


LJ and Zofia Meet Dora the Explorer

by PerkyGoth14



Category: Dora the Explorer (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-01-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:28:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 30,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22133290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerkyGoth14/pseuds/PerkyGoth14
Summary: LJ and Zofia gather some friends together for a new adventure to meet a girl named Dora Márquez who is a girl explorer who wishes to become a great explorer just like her parents: Elena and Cole. Dora proves to be a bit of a nuisance at first, but they soon become her friend as they join her on a very big adventure after being forced to survive the greatest challenge: high school.
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

It seemed to be a quiet summer afternoon so far as Ambrose was at home with his family as he was adjusting to having some cousins in the house as he was just a baby back when Sabrina was around, but he now had Eric Needles, who was recently adopted by his Aunt Zelda as her son along with a girl she had called "Jane Hart" as her daughter with her cat who would be called Dorian from now on. He helped them adjust and they decided to take a break to see a news report of Councilwoman Melanie Burke from Ohio again, though he mostly watched just to check her out because he had a bit of a celebrity crush on her as they wondered what would happen, especially in the world of adventures that this world is known as.

"Whatcha doing?" Eric asked as he came into the room.

"Minding my own business." Ambrose replied.

"Come on," Eric crossed his arms. "Is there some movie marathon about to come on TV and you're waiting for the news to end to watch it?"

"I just happen to find the local news very educational," Ambrose retorted, a bit snobbily. "Did you know that Piqua, Ohio has an underwear festival that's held once a year?"

"...This is about Councilwoman Burke, isn't it?" Eric asked with a deadpan expression.

"...What?!" Ambrose rolled his bi-colored eyes. "No way!"

"Then you wouldn't mind if I changed the channel, did ya?" Eric smirked as he reached for the remote.

Ambrose growled like a lion as he grabbed Eric's hand. "Hands off of my remote in my house."

"My house too." Eric growled back.

The two boys then got into a fight cloud with each other while Jane seemed to roll her eyes from that.

"Thanks for proving my point!" Eric remarked. "No WAY you'd watch the news otherwise!"

"I'm gonna kill you!" Ambrose snapped.

"Whoa! Whoa! Boys! Boys! Boys!" Zelda cried out as she rushed over and picked them both up by their collars. "What's going on over here?"

"Auntie Zelda, I was just trying to watch the news, and then Eric walked in to deprive me of educational TV that's good for my brain, and... And..." Ambrose said, sucking up a little bit.

"All right, I won't tolerate fighting in our house," Zelda scolded. "Aren't you all expecting company soon?"

"Yeah, Dad says when we're all here, we'll have a new adventure." Ambrose replied.

"I was just asking why he was watching the news," Eric replied. "He was the one who flipped out on me, just because I figured the only real reason he was watching was for making goo-goo eyes at that Councilwoman Burke lady from Ohio!"

"Not again, Ambrose," Zelda sighed from that. "Why don't you watch cartoons or something?"

"I'm too old for cartoons." Ambrose replied.

"You're never too old for cartoons," Zelda said. "Who's coming over?"

"I know the Schwartz siblings are," Ambrose said. "Seems like everybody else is busy though."

"Guess it's just one of those days," Dorian replied as he stretched out. "Either that or it's easier writing for a smaller group of characters."

"Are you two adjusting okay?" Zelda asked the girl and her cat. "I know it's a lot different than the home you used to know..."

"It's great," Jane smiled. "You seem more maternal than my Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda back home. I've gone on a lot of crazy adventures back at my place."

"Trust me," Zelda replied. "I know..."

We cut to Hilda and Zelda watching videos of Jane's old home life in the Justiceverse as that world's Sabrina with a darker and edgier life than the one they had raised in the good old days, but they screamed in horror from the situations that the teenage witch was forced to go through.

"We would never allow our Sabrina to do that." Zelda said to her sister out of fear.

"Yeah, I can see why," replied Dorian. "Especially with the whole plot twist that Sabrina was adopted and the Spellmans weren't her real parents."

Zelda shuddered a bit before she hugged Jane. "Do you like your new uncle okay?" she then asked.

"He's alright, I guess," Jane replied. "He seemed a bit more tense back home."

"Guess since this universe isn't as dark and gritty, he's sufficiently less tightly-wound." Dorian suggested.

"I guess that makes sense," Jane said as she pet him a bit. "I look forward to some new adventures."

"Well, in this world, that's what it all seems to be," Zelda chuckled a bit. "Especially once your little friends come over. Behave, Ambrose."

"Yes, Aunt Zelda." Ambrose mumbled a bit.

"Should be here in a few minutes, really..." Eric replied as he glanced at the digital clock.

"Yeah," Ambrose said before looking at Eric. "...Sorry."

"Yeah, I guess," Eric shrugged. "Still better than Trevor, Vana, and Kitty."

"Oh, those friends weren't good for you anyway." Zelda told her new son.

"I've had some friends too," Jane replied. "Like Harvey and Roz. I used to watch horror movies with Harvey, but they always scared the snot out of him while I enjoyed them."

"Huh...wonder what we'll call ourselves?" Dorian pondered.

"Whatya mean by that?" Jane asked the black cat.

"Like group name-wise." Dorian replied.

"Oh, I'm not sure," Jane shrugged. "Mom, what did those Cherry, Atticus, and other people call themselves in the old days?"

"They usually called themselves 'The Adventure Group', but sometimes called themselves a very special and unique name that Lionel Schwartz came up with," Zelda replied. "...I'd have to think of what it was though."

"Take your time, it'll come to you." replied Jane.

"I'm over 900 years old and yet sometimes 20 years ago is a weird time." Zelda remarked.

"Well, Cherry and Atticus helped make history 20 years ago with their various adventures, as well as some friends of theirs," Drell said as he soon came in with an old video tape. "I hope you kids will be mature with what I have to show you for your latest adventure."

"What would this be, Dad?" Ambrose asked. "Helping a guy look for clues with his blue dog? Helping some builder guy fix up places with his talking equipment? Helping a little girl who's friends with a ferocious beast?"

"What's with the snark?" Drell retorted.

"Just getting settled into what I might be in for." Ambrose replied.

"Hardy-harr-har, wiseacre." Drell snorted.

"He's so your son." Zelda teased.

"Psh." Drell rolled his eyes from that.

* * *

LJ and Zofia were soon on their way over to the Spellman house.

"I wonder what the big emergency could be?" Zofia pondered. "I hope we didn't break any rules."

"Relax, if we _did_ , then it would be accompanied by dramatic music sting, which you can imagine." LJ replied.

"Right." Zofia remarked.

They came to the house and Zofia rang the doorbell.

Zelda got the door with a small smile. "Ah, the Schwartz kids... Good to see you both."

"Good to see you too, Miss Zelda." Zofia beamed.

"Top o' th' morning to ya, Miss Spellman!" LJ replied in an Irish accent. "How are things with you lately?"

"Oh, things are alright, aside from Ambrose's little crush on that congresswoman from Ohio," Zelda remarked. "It's also good to have Jane, Eric, and Dorian with us. They're hoping to join you on whatever Drell has planned for you."

"Well, I guess that would be okay," Zofia said. "Is Jane adjusting alright?"

"Perfectly fine," Zelda smiled. "I never realized how much I wanted a daughter of my own after we took her in. I always saw Sabrina as my own daughter sometimes, Hilda felt the same way too, I guess it was destiny for us to raise her for Edward."

"I like to think of it that way," replied LJ. "And sure, they can come with us. Th' more, th' merrier!"

Zelda smiled warmly as she let them come in.

"Ah, good, you're here," Drell said to the Schwartz siblings as he took out the video tape. "Do you know what this is?"

"Uh... Yeah... Mother said something about that from when she was a kid..." Zofia replied. "She said it was like a DVD, but a square and without bonus features or restarting itself at the beginning."

"Well, that was a better answer than I expected to get, but this is also some footage from a Peruvian Jungle for a possible new ally of yours to help out." Drell said.

"Okay, so we got a videotape from Peru," LJ shrugged. "We should probably put it into the VHS player and see what's on it."

"Right," Drell replied before looking at Zelda. "I feel like Sabrina's mother would appreciate this from her old archaeological job."

"Diana just loved to explore on her own terms." Zelda replied.

"Sorry about this, son," Drell told Ambrose as he changed the channel from the news to change the video input. "I know how much you love Melissa Burke."

"...It's actually Melanie Burke, Dad." Ambrose replied.

"Melissa, Melanie, same difference," Drell shrugged. "I just know though that Harvey and Sabrina live in a haunted house in that part of Ohio. Irma visits them once in a while."

Eventually, the video input was set to the one for the VCR, and LJ put the tape inside, then pressed the 'play' button.

 ** _"Everything you are about to see is true,"_** The TV said to them with a quick PSA. ** _"Except that foxes don't swipe. That is a hurtful stereotype. Brought to you by The Fox Council of Americas. Thank you. Gracias."_**

The others looked to each other with small shrugs before the screen changed from the PSA to the main footage.

* * *

We are soon shown the jungle which showed a little girl who was having fun with a boy around her age and they seemed to have a monkey friend with her.

"Huh... Okay," LJ noted. "So far, nothing to report. Two kids, having fun."

"Watch these two closely," Drell replied. "Also, you might see some strange sights from the filter."

"The filter?" Eric asked.

"It's called The Nostalgia Filter," Drell advised. "It has a very powerful impact on those who see through it and can sometimes the mind can even play tricks on you."

"Oh, sure, I've heard that." Eric nodded as he understood as a song began to play as the kids swung on vines together with the monkey who wore red boots and the boy seemed to have a jaguar cub in his arms.

"D-D-D-D-D-Dora, D-D-D-D-D-Dora, D-D-D-D-D-Dora, All right!, D-D-D-D-D-Dora, D-D-D-D-D- Dora, D-D-D-D-D-Dora, Let's go!~" The song began as the kids had an adventure together. "Dora, Dora, Dora the Explorer Who's that super cool exploradora?~"

"I'm a talking backpack!" The girl's backpack seemed to speak.

"And I'm a map with a mouth!" The map added.

"And what are we, blind?" LJ remarked, sarcastic. "Good melody though."

Drell left the room as he looked a bit sick from the cutesy tune as the others watched the screen of the little girl who must had been "Dora the Explorer".

"Grab your backpacks, Let's go, Jump in, vamonos!~" The song continued as the kids drove off on what looked like a yellow jeep before a fox with a blue mask and blue gloves seemed to chase after them. "You can lead the way~"

"Swiper, no swiping! Swiper, no swiping!" The kids told the fox to make him go away.

"This feels like a cartoon right now." Dorian said as he watched with them.

"Oh, maaaan!" The fox exclaimed in dismay as he was shaken from the vehicle and crashed headfirst into a nearby tree.

The group winced a bit from that, but snickered slightly as the kids in the video seemed to laugh.

"Dora the Explorer!~" The song then ended.

* * *

"All right... Now that that's over, I better take the Nostalgia Filter off." Drell said as he came out of the bathroom.

"Uh... Okay..." LJ replied.

The Nostalgia Filter was taken off to show that the kids were playing with a box made to look like a jeep, also the boy's jaguar cub was shown to be a stuffed animal.

"Wow... Really takes away the magic... But I guess it makes more sense..." Zofia said as the jeep was revealed to be a box.

"Such as the life of Dora Márquez." Drell told them.

* * *

"Dora! Diego!" A woman's voice called out before she was shown to be Dora's mother, Elena. "It's time for dinner."

"But, Mami, we're about to explore." Dora pouted to her mother.

"No. Now come on," Elena told her daughter. "Besides, Diego has to be up early tomorrow. He's moving to the city, remember? His mom has a new job."

"Oh, yeah..." Dora said softly. "I remember."

Just then, her father came outside. "Dora, what did we say about dressing up Boots?" he asked.

Dora and Diego chuckled at the sight of their simian companion popping off one of his namesakes.

"He's a wild monkey, honey; he's not meant to be in human clothes." said Elena.

"Well, I'm surprised the monkey is real." Zofia shrugged.

"So, those aren't brother and sister?" LJ asked about Dora and Diego.

"Nah, they're cousins," Drell replied. "They're pretty close though like best friends."

* * *

Soon, the scene changed to night time as the family had dinner together.

Dora took a bite of her food. "Mmm..."

"¡Delicioso!" she and Diego exclaimed at the same time.

Dora's parents chuckled at that.

Dora then looked at what appeared to be right at the camera. "Can _you_ say 'delicioso'?" she asked.

It went silent for a while.

"...Who is she talking to?" asked LJ.

"I... I guess she's talking to us..." Jane shrugged from that.

"Sh-She'll grow out of it..." Cole said as he ate with his family. "Mmm... Delicioso!" he then tried to do what his daughter did.

Eric let out a weak chuckle from that.

"Don't... Don't start," Elena told her husband. "Just gotta let it go."

Everybody sat quietly for a moment.

Diego looked over to the distance before he spoke up to his uncle. "Tio, what is Parapata?"

"Parapata is a great Inca legend," Cole smiled from that before he got up to take out a book to show the kids with sketches inside to show cities with some animals. "An ancient city, now lost in time."

"Explorers for hundreds of years have been searching for it in vain," Elena added. "And, well, ever since we moved here to the jungle, we've been trying to find it."

* * *

"Talk about unexpected." Eric noted.

"Reminds me of that story that Mother told us about from El Dorado." Zofia said to LJ.

"Boy, that was a trip." LJ agreed with her.

* * *

"Is there gold there?" Diego asked.

"Stories say there's more gold there than the rest of the world combined." Cole replied.

"So when we find it, do we get to keep the gold?" Dora asked.

"Um..." Cole paused from that.

"No, no. Nobody keeps the gold," Elena said as she took the book from the kids. "We want to document Parapata for archeological purposes." she then explained.

"See, we're explorers, we're not treasure hunters," Cole added. "And as explorers, well, then the discovery of new places: that's the treasure."

The two cousins just stared at him.

"...What?" asked Dora.

"I don't get it." replied Diego.

"Cole, honey, they're 6," Elena told her husband before she turned to Dora and Diego. "Treasure-hunting bad, exploring good."

"Oh!"

"Okay!"

Cole looked bewildered. "I just said that..."

"Eh, not really." replied Elena.

The others quietly laughed a bit as they watched Dora and Diego.

* * *

"I bet the lost city of Parapata has golden statues of jungle cats." Diego smiled as he lay in bed beside his cousin.

"And monkeys. Like Boots," Dora added. "Monkeys are the best."

"No way!" Diego argued. "Jaguars are way cooler."

"Monkeys can swing and climb and talk to us." Dora retorted.

"No, they can't. Boots isn't talking to you."

"He can talk."

"I know better!" Diego glared as he suddenly yelled at his cousin. "I'm older than you."

Dora looked soft from that before she spoke again. "I think you're just yelling at me because you're sad you're leaving."

Diego was briefly quiet before he admitted that she was right. "Of course that's why I'm yelling at you."

"Aww..." Zofia and Jane frowned softly as they felt a little bad for Dora and Diego.

"...I'm going to miss you, Diego." Dora told her cousin in Spanish.

Diego nodded. "I'm going to miss you too, cousin." he replied in Spanish.

"And Boots." Dora added as said monkey snuggled into his half of the pillow...and started chewing on it in his sleep.

The group chuckled a little from that as it was a little funny.

* * *

The next morning came as it was time to say goodbye to Diego as he was about to leave with his parents before Diego thought of a way to have her remember him, even if they were cousins after all.

"Keep this. Best friends forever," Diego said as he broke a candy bar in half to give Dora the other half. "Until our next adventure, prima."

"'Til our next adventure, primo." Dora replied.

And at that, the two cousins shared one last hug with each other.

"C'mon, Diego." said his father.

"Vamos." added his mother, and Diego headed to the car with them.

"Adios, Dora." his father told his niece.

And so, Dora watched as the car started up, and drove off. After a few minutes, however, Dora started running after the car.

"Diego! Diego!" she called out.

* * *

However, the video footage seemed to melt away to later.

"10 years later..." Drell said like a narrator.

The girls looked a little sad for Dora that she had to say goodbye to Diego, but they soon watched Dora as she was now a 16-year-old girl and was being chased by a herd of elephants as she tried to film herself.

"I guess she has a YouTube career now," Dorian smirked. "That gives me an idea on what to do the next time I'm home alone."

"A talking cat on YouTube?" LJ asked. "Eh, why not? CGI has improved so much that people won't think too much of it."

"I might do what those crazy kids do and upload videos of themselves playing a game while others watch." Dorian said.

"You just better be careful you don't reveal yourself on camera." Zelda advised.

"Oh, it's okay, Mom," Jane spoke up. "A lot of YouTubers don't show their faces on camera."

"Oh... Well... That seems mysterious..." Zelda had to admit.

* * *

"Hi! I'm Dora! And I'm being chased by a herd of angry pygmy elephants," Dora said as she filmed herself while running for her life. "Can _you_ say, 'angry pygmy elephants'?" she then swung on a vine and luckily ended up out of the way as she came behind the elephants as they charged away from her. "Better luck next time, angry elephants."

"This feels... Oddly familiar," said LJ. "And yet... Different."

"I know what you mean." Zofia agreed.

"I might see that too..." Drell spoke up. "...I can't think of why or how right now though."

Dora passed through the water, stepping on what she thought were stones before she saw that she had disturbed a very large water reptile. "Pardon me, black caiman: largest predator in the Amazon."

Some babies came out to nip at her shoes.

"Aw, babies~" Dora cooed from that before she waved as she had to go. "Bye!"

A familiar-looking monkey soon came out to see the girl as he jumped onto her shoulders.

"And that's Boots! Hi, Boots," Dora smiled at the monkey before she made a voice for him. "'Hi, Dora. What's today's adventure?' Today, we continue our decades-long search for Parapata." she then answered him with her own voice.

A yellow frog was soon shown.

"Wonder what that could be...?" LJ remarked.

"Golden poison frog," Dora identified. "Its skin is lethally toxic and it can cause full-body paralysis!"

"Now that's one frog who won't become a prince any time soon," Zofia remarked.

Dora turned to the camera. "Can you say 'severe neurotoxicity'?" she asked with a smile. "Bye, deadly frog, have a nice day!"

"Weird girl..." Eric said. "So we have to help this girl?"

"Somebody has to," Drell replied. "But hey, it's the world of adventures in this fan fic series."

"...Wait, what?" Eric asked.

"Uh... Um... Oh, look!" Drell then said to divert his foster nephew. "Dora might be in trouble!"

* * *

Boots chattered as he led Dora somewhere to check it out.

"Oh! A rockfall!" Dora gasped as she came closer. "This cave wasn't here before." She climbed down the embankment and strapped on a GoPro, turning it on. Unfortunately, that got the attention of a flock of very sleepy bats, who weren't exactly pleased to have their nap interrupted. Dora had to duck down as they swooped at her, and two of them knocked Boots down.

"Bats... Why did it have to be bats?" Jane muttered to herself.

Zelda soothed her foster daughter from that. Boots blew a raspberry with a huff as he followed Dora inside the cave.

"Sorry, hairy-legged vampire bat family." Dora told the bat family as they left the cave.

Boots climbed onto Dora's back as they came into the cave together to explore before they looked around for a little while until the sun from outside shined onto a golden temple which had her take out a notebook that she brought with her.

"Ancient Inca. Parapata..." Dora whispered in amazement before she smiled with strong determination. "Come on, Boots. If you just believe in yourself, anything is possible."

"NO!" Eric, Jane, Zofia, and LJ gasped as this seemed too crazy to be true.

Dora took a deep breath as she got a running start before she ran forward and jumped off the ledge she was on to make it to the other ledge that had the temple on it, though of course, reality made her fall flat through the air before she plummeted to the ground, but luckily and surprisingly, she was barely hurt like she had a minor injury. Boots peeked out to check on her as he felt worried.

"I'm okay, Boots!" Dora weakly called out to the monkey. "Uh... Could you maybe go and get Mami and Papi for me?" she then asked.

Boots nodded and scurried off.

The young group winced a bit as Dora was hurt.

"Ah, she'll be fine." Drell told them.

"So when do we come in?" Zofia asked.

"Eventually," Drell replied. "Just keep watching."

* * *

The scene changed to a later time to show Dora back with her parents to have a little talk.

"Now can I see the statue?" asked Dora.

"Did you finish chopping the wood?" asked Cole.

"Yeah!" Dora replied.

"Honey, you scared us to death today," explained Elena. "If Boots hadn't found us..."

"I swear, this feels familiar," LJ said to Drell. "Care to help me out or at least humor me?"

"Hmm... Let me see..." Drell paused as he took out a very big book that was an archive of past adventures. "This book is gonna someday be too big even for Hercules to pick up."

"I'm sorry. It's just I'm pretty sure it's from the reign of Pachacuti," Dora told her parents as she looked through the book she took off the shelf. "I mean, the markings, they look like some sort of-"

"Map." Elena mumbled.

"What?" Dora asked.

"A map!" Cole and Elena repeated, a bit louder before a golden idol was shown to Dora.

"This is it. This is the missing piece," Dora said out of shock before she beamed out of excitement. "We found Parapata!"

Cole and Elena gave soft smiles from that.

"Wait, why aren't you guys more excited?" Dora asked softly.

The two glanced at one another.

"You guys figured it out, didn't you?" Dora asked.

"What?" asked Elena.

"You know where Parapata is!" Dora exclaimed.

"No!" Elena protested as she and Cole stood in front of the board.

"You red-tacked!" Dora pointed out. "We _never_ use the Red Tack! You know where it _is_!"

"We should have waited on the red tack." Cole suggested to his wife quietly.

"Definitely, definitely bad call." Elena agreed to that.

"Okay, we did figure it out." Cole then admitted to their daughter.

Dora beamed a bit from that.

"The Inca reached an area in Peru that nobody thought was possible," Cole then explained. "And that's where your mother and I are gonna find Parapata."

"And me." Dora added from that.

"Here it comes..." Ambrose sighed a bit.

"I'm sorry, sweetie, you're just not ready and you proved that to us today." Elena sighed softly to Dora.

Dora's face fell. "No, no, Mami, I'm ready." she protested.

"I'm sorry, but we've made up our minds." Elena replied as she walked out.

Dora slumped on the couch, saddened; her father joined her shortly after.

"Honey...you do know the jungle; it's a part of you," said Cole. "But you're all alone out there."

"And why is that a bad thing?" Dora asked.

"Because we won't always be there to pull you up." replied her father.

Dora still felt a little stuck with what she was being told.

"Go to the city," Cole soothed her before he left. "Make friends."

Dora looked at him as she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

* * *

"Aha!" Drell soon said before the next scene was shown. "LJ, does the name Eliza Thornberry mean anything to you?"

"Kinda," said LJ. "One of Mom's adventures mentioned her meeting somebody by that name."

"Well, that's probably who you're thinking of," Drell replied. "You see, after a misadventure with a cheetah cub named Tally, Eliza was forced to go to Lady Beatrice's School in England by her grandmother after the jungle was said to be too dangerous."

"Hmm..." LJ and Zofia both paused from that.

* * *

The next day came for Dora as she was forced to leave her home for a new life to be like a normal girl.

"Are we gonna help now?" Eric asked.

"Almost time..." Drell replied. "I hope you're ready to go to a new school too."

"Eh, not like it hasn't happened before," LJ shrugged. "So... I'd say yeah."

"All right..." Drell said. "Let's get you kids going right on cue."

The group looked to each other as it looked like it was now adventure time.

* * *

"Dora, hurry!" Elena called out. "You have a flight to catch."

"But I don't want to go to the city," Dora pouted as she came over with a snake wrapped around her neck like a scarf. "I won't know anyone there."

"You'll know your family." Cole replied.

"Yeah, you used to be so close to Diego," Elena added. "I'll bet he's missed you, too."

Dora looked a bit doubtful from that.

"The point is, I think it would be good for you to be in the world around kids your own age," Elena then said. "It might help."

"Help what?" Dora asked.

"Honey, you're wearing a boa around your neck." Elena then said.

"I know." Dora replied casually.

"It's a boa... As a boa," Cole chuckled from that. "That's funny."

Elena shot him a look.

"Put the boa down." Cole then said as firmly as he could.

"Okay, _that_ was pretty funny." LJ commented.

"Honey, there's something else we gotta discuss." Elena said as they took Dora to the back of the jeep.

"I can handle this." Dora said softly.

"Okay," Elena replied. "Take a seat, young lady."

"What's happening?" Dora asked.

"Come on," Elena said. "We're gonna have a talk."

"About the dangers of the big city," Cole added. "See, you're gonna be invited to some parties."

"And some of these parties, they're called 'raves'."

"The people there are called ravers."

"Okay, I'm gonna skip over this boring, awkward parent talk." Drell said as he took out the remote to fast-forward.

"Good idea." Zofia replied.


	2. Chapter 2

Eventually, the video footage skipped over and started again with Dora at the airport.

"Wow!" Dora beamed as she explored the airport with the other passengers as she tried to walk up to people to meet them up close. "Hi! I'm Dora! Soy Dora! I'm Dora! Hi! It's nice to meet you. Hi!"

The others face-palmed a bit from that as they watched Dora before they soon saw a couple looking for Dora.

"Do you see her?" asked the woman.

"No," replied the man. "What if we don't recognize her?"

"Excuse me...sorry!" Dora told several people as she tried to make her way through the crowd on a staircase.

"...I don't think that's going to be a problem." said a tall boy wearing sunglasses.

"Hey, that's clever." Ambrose said as Dora slid down the banister beside the crowd on the stairs.

"Don't you ever do that." Drell suggested.

"Aw, Dad!" Ambrose complained.

"Dora!" The woman beamed at Dora. "Welcome to the city."

"Tia Sabrina!" Dora beamed back as she hugged the woman before hugging the man with her. "And Tio Nico!"

"Dora!" The man smiled warmly.

"Hi! I missed you guys so much," Dora smiled before she saw her cousin. "And Diego!"

"Uh, hi." Diego said softly.

"Wow! Wow! You're so skinny and tall!" Dora beamed. "Like a palmito tree. You don't even look like you."

"Um... Thank you?" Diego smiled sheepishly.

"We're gonna have so much fun!" Dora grinned happily.

"You are way more energetic than I remember." Diego remarked.

"Let's go!" Dora beamed before she dashed off excitedly.

"Guess we're coming along too." Eric shrugged.

"Well... I was gonna take you to the school... But I guess that's a good idea too." Drell smirked.

The others looked at Eric a bit funny who chuckled sheepishly from that.

* * *

The next thing the young adventure group knew, they were headed right for Los Angeles.

"Have a good time!" Zelda called out from the door.

"We will, Mom--... Um, Miss Spellman!" Eric replied before covering his mouth in surprise.

Zelda looked a little touched from what Eric called her as she came back inside before sighing a bit to herself. "Hmm... What to do now that I'm home all alone?" she asked herself.

The others rode off and fell asleep a bit as it was a long way to Los Angeles as they left Greendale.

"Ah, this reminds me of the old days... Traveling with Cherry, Atticus, Mo, Lionel, Sabrina, and Patch..." Drell said to the kids. "Only this time, I'm a much better driver."

The kids shrugged at that as they continued looking out the windows of the car.

"You guys aren't mad I suggested what I did by accident, right?" Eric asked. "Whenever that happened in Splittsboro, I got beat up just for the heck of it."

"Eric, I want you to forget all about Splittsboro," Drell suggested. "From now on, you're from Greendale. I assure you that Trevor, Kitty, and Vana will never see you again and vice-versa."

Eric gave a small smile from that.

"Who says I'm not a nice guy?" Drell chuckled to himself as he rode off. "I just hope you guys don't mind the school."

"Here's hoping it ain't too bad," Dorian cracked his neck. "And yeah, I'll keep my mouth shut."

"I sure hope so." Jane told him as she pet him.

The others smiled a bit as Jane and Dorian adjusted alright with their new lives after a certain misadventure in a certain alternate universe. They soon came to stay at a hotel as Dora was getting settled into her new home as she would be starting a new adventure in a brand new place: public high school.

* * *

The next morning, they saw Dora and Diego heading to the bus stop, while Dora was singing a little tune.

"Backpack, backpack, on the backpack, loaded up with things and knickknacks, too; anything that you--"

"Um...what are you singing?" asked Diego.

"I always sing," said Dora. "Helps me remember what to bring. You did the same thing with your Rescue Pack."

The others chuckled lightly from that.

"Great, you've attracted wildlife." Diego mumbled as he heard the laughter.

"Oh! Hola!" Dora beamed as she shoved her hand in their faces. "I'm Dora! Soy Dora!"

"Rescue Pack was a thing," Diego sighed. "Which I truly regret now..."

The others soon introduced themselves to Dora and Diego.

"New transfer students, huh?" Diego asked. "Well, at least you won't be alone as the new kid, Dora."

Dora beamed excitedly at the group. Suddenly, the school bus rode by which amazed Dora as she hadn't seen one before.

"Wow! What?" Dora gasped. "This is how we get to school?"

"Um... Yeah... It's a school bus..." Eric told her.

"Hold on. Do you mind?" Diego asked Dora as he took off her headband and ruffled up her hair a little. "Just take that off. Do a little of that," he then took a look at her before he approved of how she looked now. "Hm."

"Aw...too bad," Eric noted. "I kinda liked the headband."

"Oh, uh, gracias." Dora replied from that.

"Diego, what are you doing with your cousin?" Jane asked the somewhat older boy.

"Is this to fit in with the indigenous people?" Dora added.

"I just want you to have a good first day." Diego replied.

Dora gave a small smile.

"And if I don't talk to you, don't take it personal, okay?" Diego asked. "We're all just trying to survive high school. It's a horrible nightmare."

The others looked at each other from that as they boarded the school bus.

"Geez, he's turned nihilistic," remarked LJ. "...and I hope it never happens to me."

"I'll try to make sure that it doesn't." Zofia whispered at him.

LJ nodded as he appreciated that from her.

The school bus rode along for a while until they finally came to a stop in front of the school as students flooded out to get to class.

"Just be yourself," Dora told herself before she stepped out, bright and cheerful as always. "I'm new here! What's your name? Wow."

Ambrose face-palmed a bit as they came out of the bus with her.

"She's a little naive, but it's kinda cute, in a childish way." Eric noted.

"They're gonna eat her up over here," Jane sighed. "At least there's no Prudence Blackwood here."

"Yeah, I guess that's true." Dorian said as he hid inside Jane's backpack.

Jane shushed the cat as they came to school grounds which included a metal detector as Dora passed through it which made it buzz which was a bad sign so far.

* * *

"Okay, young lady," The male security guard demanded. "Bag, table."

"Hola, soy Dora," Dora smiled as she took out her purple backpack. "And this is Backpack."

"Yeah..." The guard said before he took something out from the bag. "What is this?"

"A flare," Dora replied. "In case of emergency."

The guard tried to dispose of the flare gun only for it to go off which startled several of the other students.

"Oh. It works!" Dora beamed.

"Oh, and what are these?" The guard asked as he took out a pill capsule.

"Iodine pills to sanitize water," Dora replied as she listed what the guard took out from her backpack. "Personal generator. Two-way radio. Five-day emergency food supply kit. OneLink Shelter System with DoubleNest Hammock. You know, for cliff sleeping."

"You can't bring any of this in here," The guard told her with exasperation. "Pick it up after school."

"But I can bring my yo-yo?" Dora then asked as she took out a yo-yo. "You realize that a yo-yo is by far my deadliest weapon."

"Really?" The guard asked like she was crazy.

"She's got a point," said Eric. "I saw somebody kill a guy with a yo-yo once."

The others looked at each other before they decided to just walk along to see what the school had to offer for Dora.

"Cupcakes for charity!" A girl called out from a booth. "Save the rainforest! Cupcakes for charity!"

"What happened to the rainforest?" Dora gasped.

"It's being destroyed." The girl told her.

"Oh, no! Which one?" Dora asked out of fear. "Daintree? Yasuni? El Yunque? Ferngully? Hoh? Tongass? Kakum?"

"Uh... All of them?" The girl replied. "...What's a Ferngully?"

"A rainforest in Australia," Dora explained. "Ranching and agriculture are some of the greatest threats facing the Amazon today, but I believe that with focused conservation and plant-based diets, we can help the rain forest thrive again."

The girl seemed intimidated by Dora's knowledge of the rainforests, so she asked, "Who are you? Why are you smart? And what are you doing in _my_ school?"

"Dora Márquez," The girl stated with a sweet smile. "Home-schooled by professors. Parents misjudged me as irresponsible and lacking in socialization."

The group stared at her, astonished.

"Have a cupcake on the house." The girl suggested as she brought one out for her.

"Thank you!" Dora beamed.

"Have a great day." The girl told her.

"You, too. Bye!" Dora beamed as she walked off with her cousin and new friends. "She seems nice."

"She's not. That's Sammy Moore," Diego told her. "She's an honor roll student, tri-varsity athlete, and class president."

"Oh, so she must be very admired by her peers." Dora smiled.

"What, her? No way," Diego scoffed. "Everyone hates her. She's literally, like, the worst person on Earth."

"Well, that's a little harsh..." Zofia said. "Though... She makes me think a little of Felicity's former enemy from her school before they became friends: Audrey Rose."

Dora then spotted a lanky boy playing a PSP with headphones. "Hi, I'm Dora. Cool shirt!" she said, but he couldn't hear her, so she took off his headphones, startling him.

"Hi." Jane said to the boy.

"We're not there. Earth," Dora told the boy as she looked at his shirt. "We're more like over... Here. Want me to correct it?

The boy just blinked at her, a bit bewildered.

"There we go." Dora smiled as she used a marker out of the boy's locker to fix his shirt.

"You... Into astronomy?" The boy asked bashfully.

"Of course I am," Dora replied. "Who isn't?"

The school bell suddenly rang which startled Dora a bit.

"What's that?!" Dora gasped. "Is there a problem?"

"That's the morning bell," Diego told his cousin as he tried to rush her away from the goofy boy. "We're late now. Thank you."

"Oh, goodbye," Dora told the boy as she gave him her cupcake on the way out. "Here's a cupcake."

"Thank you...?" asked the boy, a bit surprised as Dora and Diego left with the others.

"That's Randy Warren; you don't want to talk to him," said Diego as the boy was quickly accosted by two bullies who started whaling on him. "...That's why." he added before he led his cousin away.

The group looked a bit unhappy and sad for Randy as he was bullied mercilessly.

"Maybe I should stop this." Jane glared a bit.

"No, you shouldn't," Eric said as he took her arm. "You might get in trouble."

"I'm not scared," Jane smirked a bit darkly. "I eat fear for breakfast."

Eric looked unsure, but he decided to let his new sister go ahead and give it her best shot as they went on to their first class. Jane walked off as Eric let her go. The bullies hassled poor Randy a bit.

Jane soon cleared her throat. "Ahem!"

The bullies glared as they looked over at her before some trash was thrown at them.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" Jane glared before she ran off.

The bullies looked at each other before they ran after her.

Jane hid behind a corner before she tugged on her ear to make the bullies' shoelaces tie themselves together which made the bullies trip over the floor as she chuckled to herself and she came to see Randy. "Hey, you okay?" she then asked.

"Uh, yeah..." Randy bashfully told her. "I didn't see those guys tie their shoelaces like that before..."

"Must've just happened." Jane smirked innocently.

"Uh... Okay." Randy replied before he waved at Jane as he took off for his class.

"...You better not get in trouble for using your magic like that." Eric said to her.

"Ah, I'll be fine," Jane replied. "Besides, I was helping a friend."

"I think the Sabrina Spellman from our universe was told that if she used her magic to meddle in mortals' lives that terrible things might happen." Zofia spoke up.

"Jeez, was I supposed to just let him get beat up?" asked Jane. "And for what? So the principal would eventually step in and break it up? What says that'd do any good? They'd just do it somewhere the principal couldn't see them."

"Well... That's true..." Zofia said. "I just hope you don't get busted for exposing your magic like that."

"I think I'll be fine," Jane hid a smirk. "At least I didn't turn the most popular girl in school into a goat."

"Or maybe a pineapple." snickered Eric.

* * *

They were soon in a classroom as the teacher rang a bell in her hand to get their attention.

"Okay, let's see who did the reading last night," The teacher said to her class. "Who is Moby Dick and why is this story still significant today?"

Dora raised her hand... Along with a very eager Sammy.

"Oh. Thank God. Someone else," The teacher said as she saw Dora. "You're new, yes?"

Dora nodded from that.

"Well, say hello." The teacher prompted.

Dora stood up happily. "Hola. I'm Dora. I'm Diego's cousin." she then told her classmates.

Diego tried to hide himself while the others stared at him from that.

"And Moby Dick is a whale," Dora soon continued. "The novel exemplifies the Western writer's nostalgic appropriation of colonized indigenous cultures, which explains its reified status in American fiction today."

"Where did you transfer from, Dora?" The teacher asked with amazement.

"The jungle," Dora said, which prompted laughter, but she didn't mind. "My parents are both professors. I do a lot of reading."

"Dorka!" A boy coughed which made the other students laugh.

"Wow, so original," Ambrose rolled his bi-colored eyes. "Where'd you come up with that name?"

"I bet he only used two brain cells," replied LJ. "In short, his only ones."

Ambrose chuckled a bit from that.

"Thank you, Dora," The teacher smiled warmly as Sammy snapped her pencil in half as Diego hid himself on his desk. "It looks like we have a new star in the class."

* * *

Later, the girls met up in the bathroom as Sammy stormed over once she saw Dora.

"Not sure I made myself clear earlier, but if you're going to take a shot at the queen, you better not miss," Sammy glared right at Dora who looked unafraid. "There is nothing more dangerous than a wounded animal."

"A lot of things are more dangerous than a wounded animal," Dora clarified. "A healthy one, for a start--"

"Stop! Just... Stop," Sammy snapped. "I'm watching you."

Dora shrugged as Sammy walked off, then put her headband back on her hair.

* * *

Later that afternoon, she stood outside, waving to the students as they left.

"Goodbye, everyone!" Dora smiled. "Great job today! We did it, we finished school!"

As she and Diego walked home, she hummed another little tune: "If there's a place ya gotta go, I'm the one ya need ta know, I'm the Map~!"

"Should we follow them?" Zofia asked.

"I'm not sure." LJ replied.

"How was school, my little ones?" An elderly woman asked Dora and Diego in Spanish. "Everything okay?"

"Great! Perfecto!" Dora beamed as she came inside the house.

"Great... Perfect..." Diego grumbled as he walked off after his cousin.

"Oh... Did you kids make some new friends?" The woman asked as she saw the group after Dora and Diego.

"Yeah!" Dora smiled, as she introduced the group to her grandmother.

"Hola, hello, there..." The old woman smiled warmly to the group. "I am Valerie Ramirez. Dora and Diego's grandmother, or Abuela. Can you say 'Abuela'?"

The others repeated, though LJ seemed to sound more authentic.

"Oh, very good!" Abuela smiled to them. "Especially you."

"His girlfriend let him meet the family sometimes." Zofia smirked to her brother a bit.

"It's so good to see the kids having some friends over," Abuela smiled at the group. "It's also good to see that Dora was able to make some friends."

"Thank you kindly, ma'am," LJ replied. "We do what we can."

Dora was on the phone with her mother as she added some information on the map that was taped to the wall of her bedroom.

"She looks busy," Zofia said. "We should go back."

"Yeah, let's go see Uncle... If he didn't just abandon us..." Jane advised.

"Ah, Dad wouldn't do that." Ambrose replied.

"Well, he's learned not to do that," replied Eric. "So....how exactly do we get him to show up?"

"Allow me..." Ambrose said as he took a deep breath. "DAAAAAAAD!"

* * *

Drell soon appeared with a T-shirt, shorts, sandals, with a hat over his head with star-shaped sunglasses with some souvenirs.

"Uh... Where were you just now?" Ambrose asked his father.

"Heh... Guess I got caught up in the hustle and bustle of Hollywood," Drell replied. "I saw that Walk of Fame, that Chinese theater, plus I checked out some trivia about a series called _Animated Earth_. Apparently it's some sort of reboot of around when Cherry and Atticus met Danny, Sawyer, and Darla back when she was a child actress."

"Huh..." Zofia replied. "Sounds wild."

"Yeah, it's gonna be quite a treat," Drell grinned. "Erm... Uh... You kids okay?"

"Yeah, we just need a place to stay away from school." Ambrose replied.

"Oh! Right! I know a place..." Drell said. "I just hope you don't mind the color pink."

The others looked at each other curiously from that before they soon came to the Hollywood Hills Hotel to stay at for the time being as they were away from home.

"Don't worry..." Drell told them. "You won't have to stay at this hotel... Long."

"So this'll be a short adventure." Zofia assumed.

"Relatively speaking," Drell shrugged. "Most of the time here will be spent in a montage sequence."

The others looked at each other from that. They settled into the hotel for a little while.

"So, what do you kids think of Dora?" Drell asked.

"Uh... Well... She's... A-Dora-able!" Zofia smiled as she tried to make a joke. "Huh? Huh?"

"Okay, that was _way_ too obvious," Eric snorted. "But she _is_ very exuberant. Kind of cute, really. Like a puppy."

"Oh, you think she's cute?" Drell smirked playfully.

Eric blushed. "I meant in a way someone would find a puppy cute!" he explained sheepishly.

"Uh-huh... I'm sure..." Drell chuckled a bit immaturely.

"You guys know what I mean, right?" Eric asked the others.

"Probably," Jane replied. "Well, like it was said, we have a montage to go through."

"Right." The rest of the group agreed to that.


	3. Chapter 3

And so, at day, Dora went to school and at night, she would call her parents to hear more about their special trip while she would be with extended family and new friends for her own good. She even got to try mac and cheese for the very first time, so that was a huge plus for her. Still, she continued to compile information about her parents' journey for as long as they contacted her. While Dora felt somewhat annoying before the group met her, they found her a bit enjoyable to be around and a pretty interesting friend to have.

"This should be fun to look forward to," Zofia said as she looked at her daily planner. "There's a field trip to the museum on Friday."

"Only you would get excited over that," Jane teased Zofia. "But yeah, Dora should like it."

The following night, the Winter Dance would be happening.

"I dunno...maybe I should stay home," Eric suggested. "...I don't do so well with dances, is all I'm saying."

"Aw, come on," Jane said as she took out her bag to take out a special outfit. "It can't be all bad, right, Eric?"

"I think I'll just stay here," Eric sighed. "I might mess it up."

"You guys don't think I'll get scolded for my outfit, do you?" Ambrose asked.

"Uh, what is it?" Zofia asked.

Ambrose looked bashfully before he took out a red dress with a large blonde wig that said "RuPaul" in rhinestones on the hem of the dress.

"Hm..." Ambrose frowned slightly.

"Ambrose, did you accidentally get your mother's suitcase again?" Drell asked. "Let me fix that for ya, buddy."

"Huh? Oh... Um... Okay, Dad..." Ambrose said bashfully.

Drell walked off briefly from that.

"Ambrose, are you, uh... Do you like... Um... I don't mean to be rude, I'm just curious...?" Zofia tried to ask.

Ambrose looked around to make sure his father wouldn't overhear him. "I like to wear dresses and skirts when my dad's not looking." he told them with a whisper.

"Wait, didn't we discuss this a while back?" asked LJ. "During the whole Jack O. Lantern incident?"

"It was Halloween, I'm just a little bashful to admit it..." Ambrose said, a little embarrassed.

"Well, I promise that you can trust your friends with whatever secrets you might have," Kimberly reassured. "Your family might even understand more than you think."

"Well, I guess I'll be J. Edgar Hoover then." Ambrose then suggested for his costume.

"Um... Okay," LJ nodded. "I suppose I'll be Keith or Lotor from Voltron '84."

"Hmm..." Jane paused thoughtfully. "I'm a little stuck."

"I'm going to be Mother's old friend, Wednesday Addams." Zofia beamed.

"Sounds good... For you..." Jane smirked.

"Don't worry, Jane, you'll find something," replied LJ. "And Ambrose...as long as nobody figures out it's you in that costume, you should be fine. Might I suggest an illusion spell to doubly disguise yourself?"

"Hmm... I guess that works..." Ambrose paused thoughtfully. "I can't help it. I like RuPaul."

"Someone say 'RuPaul'?" Drell asked as he came back.

"No?" Ambrose said bashfully as he put his hands behind his back.

"Oh, that guy reminds me of that witch judge who doubles as a hairdresser," Drell said. "He's... He's a bit of an oddball if I have to tell ya myself, especially when Hilda and Zelda tricked Sabrina into deciding between them of who would've been a better guardian for her after they had that fight."

"That was a thing that happened?" LJ asked. "Ah, well. Sounds like a neat person."

"Like I said before, Sabrina's teenage years are a bit of a PSA for Ambrose and Elyse." Drell replied.

"Yeah... Thanks, Dad..." Ambrose said bashfully.

"You know I love you no matter what," Drell advised him. "Would I want you to take over the Council for me? Sure! Would I want you to use your strength more often? Of course! But you're my son and I love you for whatever you do."

LJ gave him a nod. 'And if you wanna go through with this....then I'll do it with you.' he said telepathically to Ambrose.

Ambrose looked both happy and bashful from what was shared with him from that moment. Jane soon decided to go with a Buffy Summers costume as she felt like it fit her the most.

"Sweet." Zofia approved.

"I think it fits me best." Jane agreed as she sat beside Dorian.

"Well, I have noticed some similarities," Dorian replied. "Except most of your life wasn't written by Joss Whedon...or with a sense of fun and adventure."

"Our mother agrees with that." Zofia remarked.

"Well, I'm glad to be out of that life," Jane admitted. "Especially from my aunts. They said they loved me, though most of the time, it seemed like all they could do was fight each other to the death... Almost literally."

"That feels oddly familiar," Ambrose replied. "Kinda like my mom and Aunt Zelda...though it was more comical than tragic."

"Yeah, your Hilda and Zelda seem more funny and fun to be around than my Hilda and Zelda." Jane had to admit.

"Even though if I do something bad, my mom blackmails me that she will do stand-up comedy at the next Parent-Teacher Conference." Ambrose face-palmed a bit.

"I guess that could be somewhat irritating," Jane replied. "But not really tormenting."

"I wonder who Dora will come as?" Eric wondered.

"Why don't you come with us and find out?" Jane smirked.

"...Unless Ambrose can disguise me as a rock, I think I'll just stay here." Eric replied.

"Aww, Eric..." Jane pouted a little.

"Come on, man," Ambrose said. "A school dance can't be all bad."

"I just had a bad experience," Eric sighed a bit. "It's complicated."

"Lemme guess...Shitsboro, right?" asked LJ.

"Spot on, man," Eric sighed. "The whole experience has turned me off of dances altogether. Some scars just won't heal."

The others frowned a bit.

"That's okay, buddy, you can stay here with me," Drell said as he wrapped his arm around Eric. "We could bond together... As uncle and nephew! I'll tell you stories about when I was your age. Pro Tip: The Black Death was not a heavy metal band, it was a disease that wiped out half out Europe and I got grounded because of it."

"You guys have fun," said Eric. "You can tell me all about it later."

"Okay, you try to have fun here," Zofia said. "Sorry you can't come."

Eric nodded with a small smile as he sat with Drell as they watched TV together.

"You think something bad happened to Eric in Splittsboro?" Zofia asked.

"It was Splittsboro," Jane reminded. "They made a holiday about beating him up."

"...Yeah, that's true." Zofia had to admit.

"Honestly, I'd be pretty hard-pressed to find a time where something bad _didn't_ happen to him," replied LJ. "It's like someone got a sick joy out of watching him suffer."

* * *

They soon came to the school dance as night fell while everybody else was dressed up as a star, like a celebrity they liked.

"You ready, guys?" A blonde girl asked them, wearing a sparkling dress with some make-up.

"...Who are _you_?" Zofia asked.

"Don't you recognize me?" The girl asked as she showed her left icy blue eye and her violet-colored right eye.

LJ did a spit-take. "....AMBROSE?!" he asked, his face red with surprise.

"Actually, for tonight, my name is Ambrosina." The blonde girl replied.

"...But... Still..." LJ said. "So, you turned yourself into a girl?"

"Yeah," Ambrosina replied. "I'm not sure if I like being a girl right now, but... It's interesting... I feel a lot of stuff I haven't felt before."

LJ wiped some sweat off his head. "...You and me both..." he sighed. "Let's just get this over with."

* * *

The group took a deep breath together as they came to the Winter Dance, passing by various other students.

"Is that kid dressed like Michael Jackson?" Jane blinked at one sight.

"I'll be sure to tell Mother about that." Zofia replied.

Sammy walked around as she appeared to be dressed like a courtroom judge.

"She must be the Fashion Police." Zofia then said.

"Or a fashion judge," Kimberly replied. "Either way..."

"Has anybody seen Dora?" Jane asked.

"...I think I found her." Ambrosina said to the others.

Everybody took a look over to see Dora who was dressed as the sun.

"Well, it fits her personality," LJ stated as Dora approached Randy, who was at a table wearing a hydrogen T-Shirt

"You're the sun? I get it." he said.

"And you're hydrogen!" Dora replied. "It's what stars are made of!"

"Good to know." Ambrosina chuckled.

A song soon came on which excited Dora right away. "I love this song! You want to dance?" she then asked Randy.

"Sorry, Dora, I can't really dance." Randy said bashfully.

"Okay." Dora said from that.

"But... I can hold my breath for seven minutes, though," Randy said. "My parents left me unsupervised at the community pool a lot. Pretending to drown is a good way to get attention. Wanna... Wanna see?" he then asked.

"I love dancing," Dora smiled softly. "I'm really good at it."

"But, uh, if we need help with static apnea, we'll let ya know." Zofia added.

Randy gave a nod as Dora got out onto the floor and started to dance by herself; she was really getting into it, too! The others smiled at Dora as some of them joined her. The other students stared a bit though as Dora seemed to be in her own little world.

"Check her out. Check her out." A girl smirked to her friends as they looked at the center of the dancefloor with Dora.

"Hey, look!" A boy called out. "It's Disco Dorka!"

"Oh, shut up!" LJ retorted. "I don't see _you_ out there! If you had any guts, you'd actually be dancing at a school _dance_! But unless you're prepared to act and not just mock, then maybe you oughta shut it!"

The other students looked a bit horrified from that.

"...Gosh, Brother..." Zofia whispered in concern.

"They don't like it? Tough tendrils." LJ shrugged as he adjusted his red jacket.

Ambrosina decided to go dance with Dora. Zofia also danced, but she copied from the dance number sequence from her new favorite movie: Lenny the Wonder Dog. Dora smiled as she danced like her new friends too along with some of her own moves while Diego looked a little embarrassed of his cousin.

"Oh, my gosh," Sammy smirked to herself about Dora. "She's going to have to transfer schools."

LJ cracked his knuckles, smoothed back his hair, went out onto the dance floor, and started doing the Crash Bandicoot dance...at least, the updated variant from the new Trilogy.

"Come on, primo," Dora smiled as she came towards Diego who was dressed like a famous soccer player. "You know this one. Dance! The Gorilla!"

"Dance, Diego, dance!" A student called out.

"Dance, Diego, dance!" The other students chanted. "Dance, Diego, dance! Dance, Diego, dance!"

Diego felt humiliated, so he soon left the party which prompted Dora to go after him. Jane glared at the other students before her eyes seemed to turn hellish red as she felt her hands shaking and balling up into fists.

"Jane? Jane!" LJ exclaimed. "Just breathe deeply....don't lose your cool!"

Jane seemed to shake a bit with the gym as the windows cracked a bit.

"Jane! NO!" The others cried out.

The glass on the windows shattered as the room shook a bit.

"What is it?!" A student cried out. "What's happening?!"

Randy coughed a bit after he tried to hold his breath like he said he could.

LJ ran over and gave Jane a bear-hug to try and cool her down. "I dunno if this will work...but just in case, we'd better go!" he told the others.

Jane blinked a bit before shaking her head. "Huh...? What...?" she asked softly.

"We're leaving this party." LJ told her.

The adventure group decided to go, though Zofia got too into it as the other kids tried to copy her until she saw them screwing up which made her storm over to the boombox and turn the music off as she looked outraged. "WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT?! WHAT?!" she then snapped at all of them with a bit of an over-the-top British/Scottish accent before she softened up a bit. "It's okay... It's okay... I just want to know why anyone would rehearse a perfectly good dance routine and then KILL IT by 'dawncing' like a big heavy cow?!" she then brought out two fingers like horns over her head. "Like a big 'Moooo' I can't 'dawnce' heavy cow! Alphonse, Julien, any ideas?"

Two boys looked to each other shamefully from that.

"Rupert! You don't dance like oxen like your lovely group!" Zofia continued. "You dance like a hippo, but not a lovely dancing hippo! Like a big fat hippo who doesn't KNOW how to dance like she does! Dance, you fools, dance!"

LJ tapped her shoulder a bit.

"NOW WHAT?!" Zofia snapped a bit.

"Uh... Zo? We're leaving... Okay?" LJ said nervously.

"...Oh... Okay..." Zofia said calmly as she followed him out. "This dance is a bust anyway."

"...Guess Eric had the right idea staying home," LJ said. "...You sure you don't wanna change back, Ambrose?"

Ambrose soon walked by.

"Oh, you already did," LJ smiled sheepishly. "You alright?"

"This party sucks..." Ambrose replied. "My parents dragging me to the Other Realm for our annual Family Get-Together for Halloween is more entertaining than this and even Mom tries to weasel out of it with a clone of hers. Aunt Zelda sees right through that though."

"Well, Ms. Zelda is a very smart lady," Zofia agreed. "C'mon. Let's go check on Dora and Diego."

"Eh, alright." Kimberly replied as she and the others went to find Dora and Diego.

"Diego, wait!" Dora called out before she caught up with her cousin. "At least I got people dancing and clapping."

"They were mocking you. They were laughing at you and me!" Diego told her with a glare. "You've been here for weeks. How do you not see that?"

"I see it," Dora's smile disappeared as she tried to keep calm. "I'm not stupid, but I have to be myself. That's all I know how to do."

"Well, just stop doing it," Diego told her firmly. "For, like, one day just stop being you and just be normal."

"Diego, we used to be so close," Dora said softly. "Why are things so different now?"

"Because, Dora, this isn't the jungle, where you can just do whatever you want and be best friends with a monkey," Diego told her. "This is high school. It's life or death. And it was hard enough already without having to take care of the class weirdo."

Dora felt very hurt from that as she decided to go back home from that.

"Dora..." Kimberly said softly. "Aw..."

"Jeez... I never realized being in high school turned you into a first-class contender for mega-jerk of the year." LJ remarked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Diego glared. "Dora needs to learn how to grow up."

"Why? Just because one grows up doesn't mean they need to lose sight of who they are," LJ retorted. "And it looks to me like you lost sight of who YOU were a long time ago. You are who you choose to be...and I guess you chose to be a jerk who cares more about what some shmucks think of him."

"Yeah, well, at least my parents didn't abandon me." Diego glared.

The group glared back a bit as they decided to take that time to go after Dora.

"Come on, guys," Zofia said. "We don't need that culus."

"Fine, be like that, you prick," LJ snapped. "Good riddance, man."

Diego glared firmly as the group walked off, away from the school grounds.

* * *

"Poor Dora," Kimberly pouted. "She must be so sad right now."

"I wouldn't blame her," LJ replied. "...If I was basically told to reject everything that made me myself, I'd be sad too."

"Should we go after her?" Ambrose asked.

"That sounds like a good idea." Zofia replied.

* * *

They soon went to follow after Dora to help make her feel better. They didn't expect to feel sorry for her. In fact, they didn't expect to feel anything for her at all based on the video footage they saw of her before they came to meet her.

"Oh, it's pretty late to visit," Valerie said to the group. "I thought you all would be at the dance. Dora seemed to leave early."

"We actually came here to see her," Zofia replied. "It's urgent."

"Oh... Very well..." Valerie smiled. "She seems lucky to have good friends like you."

"And we're lucky to have a friend like her," LJ replied. "Eric sends his regards, even though he couldn't make it."

Valerie smiled warmly as she decided to let them visit her granddaughter.

Zofia knocked on the door. "Dora? Is that you?" she asked. "We're your real friends."

"Yeah, remember us?" Jane added. "We kick butt for you when you feel sad like a team of pals."

"...Come in." Dora replied, sadly.

Zofia frowned a bit as she walked inside with the others. Dora's costume was on her bed as they heard sniffling from inside the closet.

"Oh, Dora..." Zofia frowned a bit.

"I don't know why you came," Dora sulked. "Nobody likes me."

"Ah, nobody at school, those guys are just jerks," LJ replied. "What they think doesn't matter. What _you_ think _does_."

They came into the closet to sit with her, luckily, the closet seemed a lot bigger on the inside than the outside.

"LJ's right," Kimberly added. "I mean, I'm a cherished member of the Unicorn Club even though a lot of other kids think that I'm too old for that sort of thing. I have a very active imagination for my age and so do you."

"Besides, trying to act older than you are is the most immature thing you can do," LJ replied. "Because you're pretending to be somebody which you aren't."

"...Really...?" Dora asked.

"I'm sure it's complicated, but it's true..." Zofia said softly. "I always try to act a lot older than I am, like studying Latin or trying to be superior as the oldest sibling whenever Felicity isn't home to visit. I just want to impress some of my peers, but mostly my mother, because her opinion means more to me than everybody else. She's a tough woman to please sometimes... I've heard."

"Hey, Mom's a bit tough to impress, but that's just cuz she's not very open emotionally," LJ replied. "We know she's impressed on the inside."

"The point is that you're perfect just the way you are, Dora," Jane said. "I love horror movies a lot, even though some of my old friends don't really like them very much."

"I just can't believe Diego would say such things about me." Dora pouted.

"Time can change people, and if he's so fixated on what people think of him, then that's his hang-up," LJ shrugged. "They don't decide who you become. YOU do; you choose."

"Hmm..." Dora paused thoughtfully from that.

"Look on the bright side," Zofia smiled. "A field trip is coming up to the museum. I'm sure that you'll love it."

"Si," Dora agreed. "I'm excited for it too."

"We a _ll_ will," replied LJ. "Though we'll see how it works out by tomorrow."

Dora nodded to that as she felt a little bit better. The girls shared a hug with Dora to help cheer her up before they would leave. Valerie looked very happy for her granddaughter.

* * *

_**Meanwhile...** _

"Stupid mortal men..." Drell crossed his arms at the TV. "I wouldn't let Hilda become a Debra to me, Raymond. How does everybody love you anyway, you whiny Kermit the Frog sound-alike?"

"I dunno, he kinda sounds like the mastodon from that movie," replied Eric. "Maybe the title is meant to be ironic?"

"Meh," Drell shrugged. "You won't see Hilda doing that with me."

The group soon came back.

"Back so soon?" Drell asked them.

"That dance was kind of a bummer." Zofia replied.

"You were right not to go," LJ agreed. "It stink-stank-stunk."

"Huh... Alright," Eric replied. "Guess I'll go to bed now."

"Yeah, you guys have a big day tomorrow." Drell said.

"...Is that the big adventure part?" Zofia asked.

"I can't tell ya." Drell said as he fiddled with his glasses sheepishly.

Everyone shrugged as they each went to shower and get ready for bed. 

Drell watched them go before he kept watching his show. "Nope... I'd never let Hilda push me around..." he smirked to himself. Though he _did_ make sure to look around, making sure that Hilda wasn't watching or listening in. He saw no one there, so he watched his show.

"I'm watching you... Even from far away..." Hilda's voice said.

"Guh?" Drell blinked as he sat up from his chair.

"Hello, Drell." Hilda said as she seemed to be Debra on the TV.

"Aaaaaugh!" Drell cried out as he ran out of his chair like a coward.

"Hahahaha~" Hilda's voice laughed.

"Oooh... Very funny, Hilda..." Drell remarked as he got out of his hiding spot.

"I know I am," Hilda smirked from the TV. "That's why I'm trying to be a stand-up comedian. Maybe I'll make a sitcom based on us like Roseanne or Raymond or that Tim Allen guy."

"Guh?" Drell grunted like a caveman from that. " _You_? On a sitcom?"

"Yeah!" Hilda smiled.

"Oh, boy..." Drell rolled his eyes as he shut the door a bit as he sat in front of the TV. "The kids are in bed... Let's get more acquainted~"

Hilda giggled from that as she swooned a bit. Eventually, some time passed for the kids as they fell asleep that night, hoping for the best for Dora.


	4. Chapter 4

Eventually, the next day came, and they were soon at the museum. The group hoped that Dora would cheer up here because maybe it would help her think of happy times with her parents before she was sent away to start going to school.

"Okay, here's the scavenger hunt list," The teacher said to the students with him. "You know the drill. Team up in groups of four and go get some photos. Oh, and if anybody needs me, I'll be in the cafeteria... Questioning my life choices."

"What a great teacher." Ambrose deadpanned from that as the students fanned out to get into their own groups.

"Forget him," replied LJ. "May as well get busy with this scavenger hunt."

Dora kept trying to ask to be on other students' teams, but they seemed to ignore her as they ditched her as she, Diego, Randy, and Sammy were the only ones left without a team.

"You've got to be kidding me," Sammy scoffed at the others who were "stuck" with her. "Hm... Of course this is happening."

Diego seemed to glare at Dora who shortly glared back.

"Hmm... There's something really icy happening between you two," Sammy remarked to the cousins. "Was it the Disco Dorka dance?"

"Well, I'm glad you brought it up-" Dora was about to say.

"I'm just kidding," Sammy then said. "I don't actually care."

"We don't care about you either..." Jane narrowed her eyes before they turned red again which made some rumbling start.

"Jane... Stop..." Zofia whispered loudly. "You're going to channel your dark side again."

"Well, how about you cram it?" LJ told Sammy. "If you don't care, then I think you ought to butt out!"

Sammy rolled her eyes from that. "You can't talk to me like that."

"What're you gonna do about it?" Zofia asked. "And for the love of Scotland, don't say 'You don't know what I can do'."

"...I'm not." Sammy replied.

"Good." The Schwartz siblings looked a bit relieved from that.

"Still, my point stands." LJ replied, readjusting himself.

"Think we could be an extended group?" Eric asked the others.

"I'm sure it'll be fine with the teacher either way." Ambrose shrugged.

"Okay. _'Find something that's more than 1,000 years old'_ ," Sammy read aloud from their instructions. " _'Oldest relic gets two extra points'_. Come on!"

"Oh, my gosh," Diego grumbled. "Could you be any bossier?"

"Excuse me? 'Bossier'. Really?" Sammy scoffed from that.

"Yeah." Diego shrugged.

"What's next?" Sammy glared. "'Shrill'? Or am I being too 'difficult' for you? You left that out of your Misogyny 101 class."

"It has nothing to do with you being a girl," LJ retorted. "It's because you're acting like you're the leader even though I'm sure that nobody decided to put you in charge."

"I decided for myself." Sammy retorted.

"Oh, you must be the Queen Bee," Zofia smirked. "As well as a royal pain in the gluteus."

"Talk normally!" Sammy glared at her. "Why can't you speak English like the rest of us?!"

"So she wants to speak Latin, big deal!" LJ remarked. "Not like it's hurting anyone! Besides, normal is overrated!"

Zofia smiled as she appreciated her brother sticking up for her like that. Randy let out a small yelp which made the others look at him.

"What?" Sammy glared. "Do _you_ have something to say?"

"I'm just so scared right now." Randy replied sheepishly.

"You remind me of a very young Carlos deVil." Zofia remarked to him.

"Well...sooner we start this scavenger hunt, the less time we have to deal with Miss Bossy Boots here," LJ remarked. "So time to get moving."

"I thought I was free from Vana." Eric muttered.

"She reminds me more of Audrey." Zofia said from that.

"What about this Egyptian exhibit?" Dora suggested. "Anything Egyptian would be the oldest relic by far."

The others seemed to walk off without her.

"Guys?" Dora asked as she seemed to be alone.

"You sure we should have gone off by ourselves?" asked Eric. "Maybe some of us should go with Dora, and keep her company."

The others looked at him, then to Dora.

"Regroup." LJ said.

The others agreed to that as they came to go after Dora as she seemed to be all alone.

"Psst," A guide whispered to them. "I think I may be able to help you."

Dora and the others looked at each other as they came to see the guide woman.

"Overheard about your scavenger hunt," The guide said to them. "You were looking at the Egyptian posters."

"When does it open?" Dora asked hopefully.

"Oh, that's the problem, two weeks," The guide replied. "They're unloading it today in the basement."

Dora pouted from that.

"Well... Thanks anyway..." Kimberly replied. "We'll keep looking."

"Look... If it means that much to you, there may be a way for you to get down there." The guide suggested.

"Uh... I'm not sure if I trust this..." Ambrose said warily. "What did Dad say at breakfast?"

* * *

Cut back to the hotel as the group shared breakfast before they would go to school that day.

"This field trip might be where your adventure truly begins." Drell told the kids.

* * *

"...Well, I guess we might as well give it a shot," Eric replied. "...What did you have in mind, ma'am?"

"Wait here..." The guide said as she came by, passing the rope that would forbid them entry as she came to the far back to push a button.

The others in the group looked at each other from that as they waited to see what would happen next. The guide got to the door from the far back and opened it as she looked toward them and halfway shut the door a bit mysteriously.

"Alright, everyone," LJ told the others. "If things get hairy, remember to keep your guard up at all times."

"Right." The rest of the group agreed.

"You guys seem very lucky to all have each other." Dora said to them.

"Oh, we _are_ ," Kimberly nodded as they continued their descent. "We help keep each other mentally grounded."

Sammy, Randy, and Diego soon felt curious before they came down a set of stairs with Dora and the others which would begin their big adventure like Drell had told them.

"This best not be some wild goose chase." Sammy glared a bit.

"I sure hope it is," Dora smiled as she led the way. "I love chasing wild geese. Until you catch one. Then it is not fun. A caught goose is just the meanest!"

"Oh, Dora." Ambrose face-palmed a bit from that.

Eric giggled a little at that. "Heh...that was pretty funny." he replied.

Dora smiled a bit as they continued down the stairs.

* * *

They soon came downstairs to see a lot of tools that would be used for a future exhibit which were currently in storage.

"Mother would love this." Zofia said.

LJ nodded to that as they came to explore a little.

"Well, it's grouped by origin, so the Ancient Egyptian stuff should be in this aisle," Dora said to the others before she ran into a male guide. "Oof! ...Hi."

"Oh, no, she's been caught!" Sammy gasped.

"And I can totally explain why I'm here." Dora smiled at the guide.

"Yeah! One of the other guides said it was okay for us to be here!" Ambrose stated.

"Come with me, Miss." The male guide glared at Dora.

"Hide! Hide!" Sammy yelped.

"Where?" Randy asked.

"There, there, there!" Diego replied as he hid away with them.

"Look what I found sneaking around." The male guide told the other man.

"Ah. Some interlopers... Thieves..." The janitor said as he removed his hat. "Or maybe some explorers. Hola, Dora."

"Hi, I'm Dora, and-" Dora replied before she realized what he said. "Wait, you already knew my name?"

The female guide soon walked over.

"Hey. You gotta help us." Dora said to her.

"I guess we win the scavenger hunt." The female guide smirked.

The both of them grabbed Dora by her arms as she flailed and struggled.

"Hey! Leave her alone!" Eric yelled at the guides.

The guides glared at him.

"Get him too," The female guide suggested. "He could be an ally."

"Let me go!" Dora cried out. "Hey!"

The kids were being moved into a large wooden crate to lock them away. Then, a gas canister was thrown into the crate, knocking them all unconscious.

"Sleep tight, Dora," said the janitor. "When you wake up, you will find your parents...and Parapata."

The others were knocked out cold.

* * *

The next thing they knew was that they woke up and seemed to be riding together in the crate they were forced into before they slowly began to wake up to a whole new adventure. Zofia seemed to mumble a Scottish song to herself in her sleep before the others slowly woke up from what had happened before.

"Where are we?" Randy asked as he woke up first.

"Great question..." LJ muttered as he woke up. "Too bad I don't have a great answer."

Diego and Sammy woke up right next to each other which made them both scream out. Everybody woke up to see that they were all in a crate together while Dora peeled off some tape to take a look outside.

"What do you see, Dora?" Jane asked.

"I think... We're being unloaded from a plane." Dora replied.

"We're not on a plane," Sammy said before she took a look for herself. "We can't-" she then paused, only to see that Dora was right. "Oh, my God, we're on a plane! Oh... We've left the country without ID. We need to alert the US Consulate." she then panicked.

"I don't think we'll get that chance..." LJ replied as a thump shook the crate.

"Dora. What happened?" asked Diego.

"They came for me," explained Dora in Spanish. "They're after my parents! After Parapata!"

"Are you serious?" asked Diego in Spanish.

"Treasure hunters?" asked Sammy.

"Why did I take Mandarin?" asked Randy. "What are you guys saying?!"

The crate shook a bit which scared them even more.

"We gotta get out of here." Diego panicked.

"But the question is how?!" Jane's eyes widened.

Dora searched her backpack before she took out a blade to get them out.

"Oh, look, Dora brought a knife on the field trip, everybody." Sammy deadpanned.

"At least she has a way to help us out while you sit there." Zofia retorted.

Dora managed to wedge the crate roof open and peeked out. "I see... Three mercenaries...armed...wait, there's a fourth," she then ducked back into the crate. "I think he saw me." she put her knife back in the sheath. "He's coming for us."

Everyone got up against the wall.

"Okay... I'm not here... I'm in Avatar..." Randy said to himself as he shut his eyes.

Just then, the crate was wedged open from the outside. The others clung to each other out of fear.

"I want my mom!" Ambrose cried out.

"Me too!" Jane and Eric added together.

The crate soon opened up which made the kids freak out as they feared the worst as they were met with a bearded man who looked helpful.

"Dora! It is you!" The man said as he looked at the Latina girl.

"Who are you?" Dora asked him.

"I'm a friend of your parents," The man replied. "I'm rescuing you, Dora! Come with me if you want to live-"

There was a bump which made the man yelp out as he seemed to fall off as the crate closed shut again.

"Where did he go?" Sammy gasped.

"Did... Did he die?" Randy added nervously.

"I'm okay! I'm okay," The man said as he soon came back to help them. "I need your help, but we have to run. Now!"

"Um... Okay..." LJ replied.

One of the people in the truck looked at the rearview mirror and saw Dora and the others making a run for it. "Boss!" she exclaimed.

Said boss glanced out and glared furiously. " **GET THEM!** " he ordered, and the truck came to a screeching halt.

"My parents did not sign a permission slip for the jungle!" Sammy panicked as she ran with the others. "Why are we here? Where's the museum? Why, why, why?"

"I got a 'why' for you," remarked LJ. "WHY haven't you decided to shut up already?! Your whining is driving me nuts!"

"Well, excuse me if this isn't the field trip I wanted!" Sammy glared.

"This is no time to fight!" Zofia told them. "We have to get out of here and help Dora for the adventure!"

"Ooh... Alright..." LJ relented.

Sammy rolled her eyes a bit.

"Ah-Ah-Ah, hey! I don't wanna see or see any sass from you, Ice Queen!" Zofia glared.

"Oh, sure, _now_ you talk normally." Sammy mumbled.

"Normal is relative." LJ told her coldly.

"How do we get out of here?" asked Dora.

"I don't know!" said the man. "- Getting you out of the box was as far as my plan went!"

The lead boss gave a sharp whistle, and he was soon joined by a lanky-looking orange fox wearing a blue mask with matching gloves. "Swiper at the ready!" he exclaimed, bouncing on his feet.

The man looked at him firmly. "Whatever happens...get that map."

The fox gave a brisk salute. "Swiper, yes, swiping!" And took off like a jet.

"What kind of rescue is this?" Eric asked.

"It's the only one you've got." The man replied as he tried to get a door open for them from the bunker.

"Here. Let me try." Dora offered before she kicked the door open right away.

"Sweet." Zofia approved.

"Hola." The fox smirked at them as he appeared.

"What the..." The man muttered from that.

The fox smirked as he grabbed a hold of Dora's backpack as he escaped them to get the map.

"Hey! Get back here!" Jane glared.

"Oh, no, you don't!" Dorian snapped as he jumped out Jane's backpack to go after the fox.

"Dorian?!" The others gasped.

"Oh, great! Just what we need, another furball!" Sammy complained.

"He's _not_ a furball, he's my friend!" Jane remarked. "And he's saving our butts, so maybe come down off your high horse and quit being such a snob for once! Because in case you forgot, Miss Queen Bee... This isn't your hive, and we're not your drones!"

"How rude!" Sammy glared.

"Oh, I'll show you rude in a minute." Jane glared back, though her eyes briefly flashed their crimson before back to their natural color.

"What the...?" Sammy muttered from that.

"Hey!" Dora cried out. "That fox just swiped my map!"

"Where is it?" The fox muttered as he searched Dora's backpack for the map. "Where is it? Where is it?"

"You're mine, you filthy fox!" Dorian hissed as he came after the swiping fox.

Diego, Sammy, and Randy just stood there, blankly.

"What part of, 'The fox just swiped my map' don't you understand?" Dora glared at them. "Come on, help me!"

"Gotcha!" The fox smirked as he found the map. "There you are, my little friend."

"No swiping, you... You... Swiper!" Dora glared as she came after the fox.

"I may not be a dog, but my bark is worse than my butt just as good!" Dorian added.

"...Did you just talk?" Dora gasped at the black cat.

Dorian chose not to answer as he chased Swiper onto an airplane propeller, which sent the both of them spinning wildly. Luckily, Dora managed to slide under the propeller without getting hurt.

Randy sighed. "She's amazing..."

"No kidding..." Eric agreed.

Dora then caught the propeller with her hands, sending Swiper and Dorian hurtling through the air. The fox landed head-first in a pile of cereal boxes. "Oh, maaaan..." he groaned. "I'm stuck upside-down."

Dorian ended up landing on the floor, on his back. "Not what I'd call a smooth landing..." he groused, getting up (with much pain in doing so).

"Oh, Dorian..." Jane cooed as she came to pick him up to comfort him.

"Your warm touch makes it all worthwhile." Dorian said as he nuzzled up to her.

Dora leaped over to catch up to the fox, but he was gone once she came over. "Swiper, no-"

Swiper smirked as he was shown with the thieves as he gave them the map.

"Good job, Swiper." The boss approved.

"I know, man." Swiper replied.

"Get her!" The boss then commanded.

Swiper nodded before he lunged out to attack the girl. 

"Dora!" Diego cried out for his cousin.

* * *

Everybody ran outside together, though they seemed to be alone and without their newest aid.

"Now what do we do?" asked Sammy as Dora ran out of the warehouse.

"Come on, come on!" Diego called to her.

"Where did our rescuer go?" asked Eric, looking around.

"He ran away!" exclaimed Randy, before the man pulled up in a Jeep.

"Get in!" he told the kids, who quickly piled aboard.

"Open this door, man!" yelled Swiper. "I'm not joking, man!"

Eventually, they managed to break out, but right when the group was riding off.

"Swiper, get the truck!" ordered his boss. "Don't let them escape!"

And once again, the crafty fox was in hot pursuit. Dorian seemed to blow a raspberry at Swiper as he sat in Jane's arms comfortably.

"Hold on!" The man told the group of kids.

The jeep sped away from the road into the large fields of grass which was a bit of a rough ride for them.

"Sorry!" The man told them as he drove further for a while until he stopped. "Are they following?"

"Where have they gone?" The boss asked from the truck as it drove past the field luckily enough. "This is the only road for miles. Keep your eyes peeled."

"Not anymore." Jane replied as she pet Dorian comfortably.

"Are you kids okay?" The man then asked.

Randy gulped before he leaned out to throw up.

"Eh... Could be better?" Zofia shrugged sheepishly.

"Not really." Randy then said after he stopped throwing up.

"'Not really'?" Sammy scoffed from that. "Understatement of the century. I was just kidnapped and chased by bad guys! And a fox with a mask!"

"At least you're still alive." Ambrose rolled his bi-colored eyes.

"Everyone saw that, right?" asked Sammy. "Like, why does that fox need to remain anonymous? Who is gonna recognize one specific fox?"

"Sammy... IF YOU QUESTION HOW THINGS WORK, THE STORY FALLS APART!" LJ yelled. "SO STOP QUESTIONING IT! SO HE'S A FOX WITH A MASK, BIG STINKIN' WHOOP!"

"How did you know my name?" Dora asked the driver.

"You were an infant the last time I saw you," he explained. "My name is Alejandro Gutierrez. I'm a professor of ancient languages at San Marcos University in Lima, Peru. Your parents and I were in constant contact during their time here. Then two weeks ago, your parents' calls stopped. Since then... silencio."

"That means silence." Sammi stated.

"Yeah. I got that one." replied Randy.

"We all did." Eric added.

"They haven't answered any of my sat phone call for weeks, either." Dora said to the mysterious man.

"Your father sent me this just a week before, in case I could help." Alejandro said as he brought out a special book to Dora.

"Ah, Papi's journal~" Dora beamed as she took the book before flipping through it.

"So I came here to make sure they were okay," Alejandro then continued. "Tracked them this far. I've been staking it out, hoping for a sign from them. And then I saw you poke your head out of that crate and I said to myself, 'Dora!' Dora the... Kidnapped teenager!"

"But how did you recognize me?" Dora asked him.

"Well, you look sort of exactly the same."Alejandro said bashfully.

"You don't have a random, uncanny valley baby picture to show us, do you?" Ambrose asked from that information.

"Uh... No..." Alejandro said to him before he looked at Dora. "But... I'm afraid I have no idea where to find your parents."

"Don't worry," Dora replied. "I can track my parents in the jungle. Let's go!"

"Hold up!" Sammy announced. "Or we could call the local police and have them come rescue us with, like, a SWAT team.

"Yeah, that sounds like another solid option." said Randy.

"Of course!" Alejandro replied sarcastically, before pretending to call someone. " _'Hello? 911? Can you please come and get us? We're at the corner of Rain and Forest'_."

"Okay, I get it!" Sammy groused. "I just wanna go home."

"We're gonna die out here," said Randy. "Look around you; this is the kind of place where people die."

"...I mean, in a way, every place is the kind of place where people die." stated Dora.

"...She's not wrong." Zofia had to admit.

"Okay, well, that's a bummer notion." Sammy scoffed.

"Oh, do you wanna go?" Kimberly glared.

"Guys, guys," Alejandro said to break it up. "Listen, finding Dora's parents is our best chance of getting home."

"My aunt and uncle will know what to do," Diego added as he agreed. "Dora's my cousin, I can't just let her go off with some... Strange and anxious man we just met."

"Thank you, Diego." Alejandro said from that.'

"Yes, thank you for now caring about your cousin, Diego, instead of disowning her like from my experiences as a Honeybee Scout." Zofia added from that.

"...What?" Diego asked.

"Let's just say you do _not_ wanna meet Chelsea Gibbons." Zofia advised.

Diego and the others gave her a look, except for maybe LJ.

"Now let's go find Dora's parents." Alejandro suggested as he started up the jeep so they could go.


	5. Chapter 5

Soon, the group was on their way. They drove for awhile, until they passed by a blue vehicle in the foliage.

"Look! In there!" exclaimed Dora. "That's their car!"

Alejandro brought the jeep to a halt and everyone got out. Dora came over to a nearby tree. "Here. This is it...our family symbol. This is where they started hiking."

"Are we there?" asked Sammy. "Where are your parents? I don't see your parents!"

"We can't go any further by car...the jungle gets too dense." Dora stated.

"Like Sammy's head." LJ muttered.

"So how do we…" began Randy.

"We must enter the jungle on foot." stated Alejandro. "Luckily, I prepared for this possibility."

"Well, thank goodness for that." Ambrose smiled in relief.

Alejandro opened a trunk that he brought with him that had packs of raisins, juice boxes, some magazines, and other assorted junk like funky sunglasses. "I might've gone a little overboard on supplies." he said sheepishly as he took a juice box and put the fedora on his head as he grabbed his bag.

Dora moved the plants a bit away from the jeep before they would venture out to the jungle together.

"This is a legit nightmare!" Sammy groaned to herself.

"Well, suck it up," Jane told her. "We have to keep moving."

Dorian followed after her as he stayed close by her feet like a normal pet cat.

"I'm not going in first, though," Alejandro said to the kids. "You go first, Dora. It feels right."

Dora looked to him, but she bravely came to lead the way into the jungle. "You all have nothing to worry about. The jungle is perfectly safe!" she then told them all. "Just don't touch anything. Or breathe too deeply."

With wavering confidence, the group followed her into the jungle.

* * *

Hours passed, and further and further they went.

"Are you _sure_ your parents went this way?" asked Eric, a bit nervous.

"Okay, what are these?" Sammy asked about some of the odd things hung up around the foliage.

"Warning signs… Totems…" replied Alejandro. "Legend tells of a deadly ancient militia dedicated to protecting Parapata from outside eyes. No one has seen Los Guardianes Perdidos... The Lost Guardians, for centuries."

Dora recited something in a different language.

"...What was that?" Diego asked as it didn't seem to be Spanish.

"Quechua," Alejandro replied. "Ancient Inca. Impressive."

"What does it mean?" Ambrose asked.

"'All those that seek Parapata, shall surely perish'." Alejandro translated.

"Okay, I am ready for my parents to come and get me now." Randy said out of fear.

"You have nothing to worry about," Alejandro reassured. "I promise. I mean, there's no need to overreact."

"Says the guy about to walk into a spider web," Dorian smirked. "Bet he freaks out like a chicken."

"Shh!" Jane shushed the cat.

Alejandro ended up walking right through a spider web, as Dorian predicted, and he started freaking out. "AAAH! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!" he shrieked, flailing around before he smacked face-first into a nearby branch and fell over.

"...Called it." Dorian chuckled, as Alejandro got to his feet.

"...And that was just an example of the dangers of overreacting." he stated, brushing off some spider-web remnants on his face.

"I'm sure it was." Dorian snarked to himself.

* * *

And so, they went back on the trail to search for Dora's missing parents, but it would, of course, take some time. They couldn't do it all in one day and even had to share some hammocks together as the days faded into the night to become days again.

"You okay?" Zofia asked Sammy. "You're walking kinda funny."

"Or is that just how cool kids walk these days?" Jane added with a roll of her eyes.

"I'm fine. Totally fine." Sammy replied a bit firmly.

"Hey. I found one of those red loops." Randy said as he took a look at a nearby tree.

"My parents' symbol," Dora smiled from that. "We must be getting close."

"Oh, thank you, thank you!" Sammy gushed in relief. "We're going home."

But when the group got to the site, all they found was a deserted campsite.

"This is my parents' camp..." said Dora, looking at how disheveled the area was. "...Or, was. I mean, this _is_ their stuff."

Suddenly, they all heard something scampering through the treetops.

"Someone's watching…" remarked Sammy. Then, more scampering. "I can feel it."

Then, more scampering, followed by something sliding down from a tree...a familiar-looking monkey!

"Kill it! Quickly, kill it!" shrieked Alejandro.

"Oh, calm down," Eric remarked, rolling his eyes.

"Boots!" Dora exclaimed, embracing the little simian in a friendly hug, which he returned. "Oh, Boots, I'm so happy to see you!"

"She knows this monkey?" Sammy asked in disbelief, before sighing. "...Of _course_ she knows this monkey."

Jane glared a bit, but her eyes stayed blue this time without turning red.

"He's adorable." Zofia smiled towards Boots as she tickled under the monkey's chin.

Boots beamed from that as he smiled back at the redheaded girl before he began to chatter at Dora.

"Thank goodness," Dora smiled in relief before she looked back at the others. "He saw them."

Sammy, Alejandro, Randy, and Diego stared at Dora a bit blankly.

"Oh, sorry. This is Boots," Dora introduced then. "Boots, these are my friends. They're here to help me."

"No. We're here to get saved," Sammy glared. "Oh, and FYI, we are not friends."

"Feeling's mutual." Dorian snarked quietly.

Boots blew a raspberry at the mean girl as he didn't like her very much.

Dora came to a tree that Boots showed her as she found the symbol. "They did this quickly," she then said. "See how they rushed it?"

"Yeah." Alejandro nodded.

"Still, I can track my parents better than any mercenaries," Dora smiled confidently. "We just have to get to them first."

"I love that enthusiasm!" Eric beamed.

"Alright then," said Kimberly. "C'mon, vamonos! Everbody, let's go!"

"C'mon, let's get to it," said Ambrose. "I know that we can do it!"

"Who we gonna find?" asked LJ. "Dora's parents!"

And off they went again...though Sammy seemed to be having quite a bit of trouble. "...May we stop for a moment?" she asked the others. "I need to do a thing."

Diego and Randy looked back. "...What?" asked Randy.

"...Just a thing." said Sammy.

"What thing?" Diego asked. 

Before Sammy could respond, Dora spoke up. "I know what this is," she said. "You have to poo."

"No. That isn't it!" Sammy denied, before eventually relenting. "Of course I have to poo! I haven't pooed in 48 hours! I'm sweating, and every step is agony! Well, don't look at me; cover your ears!"

"Probably should've said 'cover your ears' before you said 'poo' like, 47 times." mumbled Diego, which made LJ snort.

Zofia also snickered as that was pretty funny.

"There's no need to be afraid," Dora smiled at the mean girl. "I have an idea; let's turn this into a song.

"Let's not." Sammy replied with wide eyes.

"This, I have to see." Zofia said to herself.

LJ made a disgusted look on his face.

"The song!" Zofia told him.

"I was _hoping_ that's what you meant." LJ replied.

Zofia followed Dora and Sammy further away from the rest of the group.

"You know what? I think it's passed," Sammy said nervously to Dora. "Why don't we just go back to the group, and we can just--"

Boots soon pointed to a spot as Dora took out a shovel from her backpack.

"Seriously?" Sammy's eyes widened. "You had that in your backpack, too?"

"Poo shovel!" Dora replied enthusiastically.

"Stop questioning it," LJ yelled from far away.

"It's...time to dig the poo hole; Dig, dig, dig~" Dora sang as she dug. "Just grab a shovel, it's a piece of cake; Make sure the hole is deep, and there isn't a snake~; I'm telling you this, so you will be wiser; And don't forget, it's a natural fertilizer!~" Finally, Dora finished digging. "I believe in you, Sammy. I believe that you can do this," she told the girl. "Also, medically, you have to do this."

Sammy gave her an odd look.

"Okay, bye!" Dora replied as she went to give Sammy some privacy. "Come on, Boots!"

The monkey followed behind his long-time friend.

"Good luck with that, Sammy." Zofia chuckled to herself.

"That's not funny, you freak!" Sammy complained. "Now leave! I can't go with you watching!"

"Ick." Zofia mumbled from that as she decided to go.

Sammy groaned as she took that time to do her business, even if she would prefer a private restroom, but she had no choice.

"She's good." Dora told the others as she came back with Boots and Zofia.

"Glad to know that," LJ nodded.

"There's nothing to be afraid of." stated Dora, seconds before two arrows shot out of the foliage and pierced a tree trunk.

"...Except for that!" Eric gulped as Randy spat out his juice. Then, more arrows were fired at the group.

"Not good!" yelped Alejandro. "Not good at ALL!"

"Go, go, go!" Dora told the others, and they did just that. Boots leapt and ducked to avoid being pierced by the arrows.

"Real arrows flying at us!" shrieked Randy. "Real arrows flying at us!"

"I'd say this would be a good time to use your magic," Eric told Jane and Ambrose. "But I don't think you'd be able to concentrate with all this adrenaline!"

"I don't think so," Ambrose replied. "Maybe when we can get a breather?!"

"Hopefully, Ambrose," Jane said. "This isn't good for anyone!"

Sammy sighed in relief as she was able to relax as he sang Dora's song to herself while she did what she had to do.

"RUN!" The others called out as they rushed over to where Sammy was.

Sammy felt confused, then panicked as they were about to invade her privacy. "Look away! Look away!

"Sorry, no time!" Diego told her.

"We saw nothing!" Randy added.

"Run for your life!" Dora yelped. "We gotta go!"

Sammy yelped as she saw an arrow, so she zipped up and pulled up her pants as she ran with them. "What is happening?" she then asked.

"Horrible stuff!" Kimberly cried out. "We have to find a cave or something to hide away in!"

"There, there! Follow me!" Diego pointed, seeing a large, hollow log nearby. He and the others all climbed inside.

Several arrows were fired through the log, but then Randy felt a liquid running down his shirt and panicked.

"I'm hit! They hit me!" he exclaimed. "I'm bleeding out! I am losing life force!"

Diego then reached into Randy's jacket and saw what the arrow had hit. "Oh, no, no, no! No, it's a juice box, it's just a juice box." he realized.

Randy laughed weakly, but it turned to awkward crying. The group then noticed that the hail of arrows had ceased.

"I think we're safe..." said Alejandro. "For now." Unfortunately, just as he'd said that, an arrow struck the top of the log and sent it rolling down a hill. "Not safe. Not safe! Not safe!" he yelped.

"I want to go home!" yelled Randy as the log kept on rolling. "I want to go home!"

"I think I'm about to be sick." Zofia groaned as she cupped her mouth.

* * *

The log soon came to a stop which gave them a bit of a rough landing.

"Anybody hurt?" Kimberly asked.

"I think we're okay..." Jane said. "Eric? Dorian?"

"We're good too... I landed on something soft other than my feet." Dorian replied as he seemed to be on top of Eric.

"Yeah... Me!" Eric glared a bit at the black cat.

"Whoops! Sorry about that, kid." Dorian chuckled.

Everybody soon left the log as Sammy hugged her knees and buried her face as she looked a bit traumatized.

"Guys... I can't say for sure," stated Alejandro. "Because I'm fairly confident I just sustained a serious brain injury, but I do believe we may have just met Los Guardianes Perdidos. The Lost Guardians."

"I thought you said they were just legends." said Diego, as Dora took a better look at one of the arrows.

"These are the same Inca sun symbols that were on those totems…" she realized.

"So these are like, legit arrows?" asked Randy. "Like, kill-people arrows?"

"The markings are quite authentic." stated Alejandro.

"Well, that's comforting," Ambrose said. "At least we were able to make it through without magic."

"This time anyway." Jane added.

"Hey, you okay?" Dora asked as she came to check on Sammy who was sulking to herself.

"Okay? Okay?" Sammy scoffed. "No, I'm not okay, okay? I want to go home! I want to be staring at my phone, in an ice-cold room, drinking a frozen coffee beverage! And I know that makes me sound real basic, but that is what I want!"

"Well, what do you want us to do about it?" Zofia glared. "We cannot control fate!"

"Whatever! You, stay away from me!" Sammy glared before she looked at Dora again. "Oh, and by the way, the poo song lied. Yeah, it was totally dangerous, arrows rained down on me. I hate it here!"

The adventure group glared back a bit as Sammy went to storm off, but she found it impossible to.

"And I can't even storm off 'cuz this jungle will eat me!" Sammy then glared with frustration.

"Maybe a song will help," Dora offered. "It's okay to freak out sometimes, It's really okay~--"

"No more songs!" Sammy snapped at her.

"Okay." Dora said softly, though she tried not to take it personally. She strode off from the group, though Diego and Eric both decided to go after her.

* * *

"Are you here to yell at me, too?" Dora asked them.

"Nah," replied Eric. "Actually, we're here to avoid getting yelled at."

Dora sighed. "It's scary to be responsible for other people; it's easier when you're alone."

"Is it?" asked Diego.

Dora looked over softly as Diego looked away from that.

"Look, I know she can be like, a real pain in the butt sometimes, but... She's not all bad, I guess." Diego said to Dora about Sammy.

"You have an attraction for her." Dora hid a small smirk.

"What? No!" Diego said bashfully. "No, I definitely never said that."

"You know, a life-threatening situation can often accelerate the mating process in many species!" Dora advised with a cutesy smile.

"Okay, no. Just slow your roll," Diego told his cousin. "And please don't ever say the word 'mating' again. Ever."

"At least we got a pretty smile out of her." Eric said about Dora.

"Let's just get out of here," said Diego as he got up. "Are we even going the right way?"

Boots chuckled at Diego's response, as the boy suddenly saw something on the forest floor: a pawprint.

Dora noticed his silence. "What?"

"...Fox tracks." replied Diego. Boots looked at him, nervous.

"This just got serious." Eric remarked.

They soon walked off at that as Boots led the way almost like a tracking dog.

"He might be a dog, but he'll do." Eric shrugged at himself.

Boots chattered before he hid behind a boulder which made the others hide away with him.

* * *

They found a campsite which had the bad guys there, but luckily, they didn't see them right away as they talked about upcoming plans.

"I scouted the area. There's a freshly-cut path to the north, some ruins to the east."

"Did you find any more of their markings?"

"No."

"Okay, then we head north."

"That's the path they took."

"Hi, guys!" said Alejandro, coming over; everyone quickly shushed him.

"What was that?" asked one bad guy.

Suddenly, Boots got an idea! He jumped onto the rock and waved to the bad guys, distracting them. After hooting and jeering, he leapt around the area.

"What, you're scared of monkeys now?" said the boss.

"Monkeys can carry three times their body weight." replied the male grunt.

"So that's a yes?" replied the boss.

"Viper's scared of monkeys." teased the female.

"It's just a monkey fact," said Viper. "That's all it is."

Dora and the others took that time to escape back to the rest of the group while they still could.

* * *

**_Meanwhile..._ **

"Where are those guys?" Sammy asked as she walked carefully with Randy.

"They're definitely dead," Randy replied. "It's just you and me now."

"We're here too, bozo." Jane reminded about herself and the others.

"Uh, right... Of course... Sammy and I will have to start a family." Randy then said.

"Jeez, jumping the gun a little quickly, isn't he?" asked LJ.

"We are NOT starting a family." Sammy rebuked.

"...Give it a few days..." replied Randy, until he saw Dora and the others coming from the jungle. "Hey! Where have you guys been?"

Sammy looked over to Dora. "Look, I'm really sorry, Dora." she told the girl.

"It's fine," replied Dora as she rummaged through her backpack. "It's fine, Sammy; we saw the mercenaries. They're ahead of us."

"We'll have to follow the mercenaries from a safe distance." stated Alejandro.

"No. We're not following them," Dora said as she now held a book. "My parents didn't go that way. My father says that the way to Parapata passes through an opera house. The opera house was built hundreds of years ago by Europeans during the rubber boom. There'll be nothing but ruins by now. This is the way they went."

"An old opera house?" Zofia asked. "Here?"

"Si." Dora nodded.

At that, they walked off with Dora leading the way as he held the journal close.


	6. Chapter 6

"Dora, do you suppose these stairs could mean anything?" Jane asked as she looked up ahead.

Dora looked up from her book before she smiled as that had to be the answer. "This must be it... Or was it..." she said to the others.

They soon walked off ahead to the stairs to climb up them to the ancient opera house as Zofia sang "The Phantom of the Opera" to herself, though of course in Latin.

"What is she doing?" Sammy asked.

"She's a little nervous, so she's singing to help calm herself down." LJ replied.

Just then, they stepped in something that made squishy sounds.

"...Why does the ground feel like chocolate pudding?" asked Sammy.

Randy stepped on the ground, making a fart noise. "Ex-cuuuuse me!" he chuckled, sending Diego into a laughing fit.

"...Well, this is definitely bringing back memories of...." Eric shuddered. "...Sidekick School...."

LJ rolled his eyes. "We're really doin' a fart joke here, huh?" he asked. "...Why would the ground be all squishy like this? Unless... It was--... Oh, crap. We're standing in quicksand."

The humor died out after that.

"You gotta be kidding me, quicksand is real?!" asked Randy. "I thought that was like a videogame thing!"

"Okay, don't freak out!" LJ told the others. "That'll just make you sink faster."

"He's right," Dora added as she told them what to do. "Lie down flat on your back. You have to distribute your weight."

"Okay. All right." Sammy replied shallowly.

Everybody tried to slowly go on their backs as they did as Dora told them. Zofia's breathing got quicker and wheezily before she took her turn.

"No, no, no. I'm not doing that." Alejandro said nervously.

"No, this feels super wrong." Diego groaned a bit at first.

"Now what, Dora?" Ambrose asked.

"Now make little movements with your legs to make space for the water to get between the sand," Dora instructed. "And once your legs are free, simply backstroke out of the quicksand."

"Oh, give me a break," Alejandro whined. "We're gonna die in here."

"She's right," LJ said like a sloth. "Juuuuust....moooove.....sloooowly....aaaaand....youuuu'll....beeeee.....freeeeeee," As he spoke, he moved slowly until he pulled himself free of the quicksand. "Ta-Da! Like that!"

Dora managed to get herself out of the quicksand, along with Kimberly and Ambrose, pulling Sammy out; next was Diego and Eric, who got Randy, Jane, Zofia, and Dorian out.

"All right, we're all good." Ambrose said.

"Erm... Not quite." Kimberly said as she saw Alejandro still struggling.

"Help me!" Alejandro squeaked out of fear.

"Alejandro, you have to stop moving," Dora advised. "Stay sti--"

Everybody suddenly got quiet as a scorpion crawled over, right behind Alejandro's head.

"Why have you all gone quiet?" Alejandro asked them. "It's bad, isn't it?" he then noticed the scorpion and panicked.

"Oh, no! Shoo! No, no no! Not on the face. Not on the face. Ahh!"

"There's another one." Dorian said nervously.

"It's another male," Dora remarked. "They will now fight."

"No, no!" Alejandro yelped. "Aaaaughh!"

"I'm not sure those guys are fighting." Randy said as he watched the scorpions closely.

"Oh, it's a female," Dora realized. "They are not fighting. They are mating!"

"Okay, he's making this difficult," Jane said as she was about to tug her ear. "Maybe I should take care of this."

"Ah, why not?" shrugged Dorian. "Go for it; they'll most likely chalk it up to stress-induced hallucinations or something like that."

"Well... Okay... I just hope that Mom will be okay with this." Jane said as she tugged her ear to help Alejandro out of the quicksand.

"Let's hope that my parents will be alright with it too," Ambrose added. "The rules go triple for me. I'm a bit of a troublemaker."

"We never would have guessed that." Dorian deadpanned slightly.

Suddenly, Alejandro slid further into the quicksand...only to fall out at the bottom, revealing that it had a hole underneath! "I'm alive?" he exclaimed, shocked. "I'm alive! I'm alive! I'm alive, I'm alive..." And then he started crying. "I thought I was gonna die...!"

"It's so awkward when adults cry," said Randy. "You just don't know where to look."

Jane leaned back a bit.

"Did you do that?" Ambrose whispered.

"...Maybe?" Jane shrugged as she wasn't really sure herself.

Dora tried to settle Alejandro down as he cried happily about being alive.

"My whole life is a lie," Alejandro cried. "I'm a fraud."

"No! No." Dora cooed.

"Yes."

"Everyone thinks that sometimes, Alejandro."

"I'm a bad guy."

"No."

"Yes."

"No. No. No."

"No, yes, I am. Yes."

"I'm a... I'm a bad guy!"

"No, you are not a bad guy," Dora smiled sweetly. "No one is, deep down inside."

Alejandro sighed a bit as that seemed to calm him down. "Thank you, Dora."

"Come on." Dora suggested.

"Where are we anyway?" Kimberly asked.

"Someone lives here." Dora said as she saw a fiery light not too far away as a shadow was coming toward them.

"And that someone's coming." Randy gulped.

"That's probably our cue to go." Dorian suggested as he took that time to flee away from the scene.

But surprisingly, the person who emerged was an elderly woman. Jane rolled her eyes at Dorian's cowardly move.

* * *

Soon after, the group was inside her hut.

"She hasn't seen my parents." Dora told the group. "And doesn't seem very interested in helping me find them."

"Perhaps she knows how to get to Parapata?" asked Alejandro. This made the old woman very angry, and she yelled at him before tossing something in her fireplace, which burnt up.

"...She seemed pretty interested in that." Sammy stated.

The old woman soon brought out some figurines which resembled the group physically.

"Aww... They look like us..." Kimberly smiled. "They're like little dolls."

The group gasped a bit as the old woman crushed the figurines with a rock suddenly.

"That seemed bad, right?" Randy remarked nervously. "Everyone thinks that was bad?"

"Yeah, a little bit." Diego replied.

The woman spoke again as she made various gestures while Dora listened closely and carefully.

"What?" Eric asked Dora. "What did she say?"

"She said anyone seeking Parapata is cursed." Dora translated.

"Well, that's great." Sammy snarked a bit.

"But she also said she knows how to get you guys back downriver," Dora then said which was good news. "She can take you home. All of you."

Sammy gushed happily as Randy also looked elated himself.

"Yes. Yes! I am saved!" Randy beamed. "I... Mean, only if you are cool without us, obviously."

"You got me into this mess, but I guess you're getting me out of it, so we'll call it even." Sammy added as Dora smiled calmly.

"I'm coming with you," Diego spoke up. "I can't let you go alone. I mean, plus you're my cousin. There's, like, rules about that."

The old woman then showed them to two separate paths.

"Well, this is where we split up," Dora said, before giving Sammy a hug. Randy then hugged Alejandro.

"I, uh, hope you don't die or anything," Sammy told Diego.

"...Uh... You too." Diego replied, reaching for a handshake. Instead, Sammy hugged him.

"...Is she staring?" she asked Diego after a few minutes.

"Yeah." came the reply; Dora stood nearby, looking on with a grin.

"....Okay, time to go." Sammy replied, breaking off the hug.

"Time to go, Zofia." Kimberly said.

"But we can't just leave our new friend." Zofia replied.

"It's okay, you guys," Dora smiled. "I'll be fine. I was born for this kind of lifestyle."

"True," LJ nodded. "No sense arguing with that. I wish you good luck on your quest."

The old lady told the group something.

"...She says stick to the path." Dora translated.

"Fair enough," Eric said softly. "It was really nice meeting you, Dora."

"Likewise," Dora smiled. "Have a safe trip back home."

Zofia looked a bit sad to leave Dora, but they had to go as it seemed like this was the case.

"Come on... We'd best be going," LJ said. "The sooner we set off; the less likely we'll be to get caught by those bad guys."

Zofia looked a bit sad as they soon left Dora on her own to go find her parents. The woman grunted as she spoke to them sharply.

"Pretty sure that means 'hurry up'," Ambrose said. "My parents get that way too if I tell them I'm on my way out of bed on a school morning."

* * *

And so, the woman led the group away as Dora said her goodbyes to her new friends. The woman called out to them, a bit urgently.

"Gosh, she's in a hurry." Kimberly said to the others.

"Almost like she _wants_ us to leave; I wonder why, though?" Jane wondered as she found Dorian.

"Is it time to go already?" Dorian asked.

"I guess it looks like it," Jane said as she came to pick him up. "And quickly based on the way this lady is acting."

The group decided it was best to leave quickly, lest they anger the old woman further. The woman spoke and gestured to a boat which would be big enough for all of them.

"Let's go." Jane said as she hugged Dorian.

Dorian took a look at the woman as her sweater sleeve moved back a bit from her arm to show a marking which made him yelp. "YAAAAUGH!"

"Dorian, what is it?" Jane asked.

"That symbol!" Dorian cried out as he pointed at the woman's arm to show a special mark on her arm.

"Oh, no... Oh-no-no-no!!" exclaimed Sammy, pulling Randy back.

"C'mon! We have to warn the others!" Eric exclaimed as he and the group took off into the woods.

The old woman yelled something to them.

"Looks like ya got your wish, Zofia," Kimberly told her friend/future sister-in-law. "We get to go back and help Dora out!!"

"I thought something felt off about this goodbye!" Zofia replied as they ran back.

The woman called out, a bit firmly.

* * *

Meanwhile, Dora, Diego, and Alejandro walked over to what looked like a patch of giant red/pink flowers which were hazardous. As they arrived, a trio of animals: a blue frog, an orange cricket, and a pink snail, came to the scene as they played musical instruments of trumpet, drum, and triangle for about eight seconds as a fanfare before they walked off again.

"...What was that?" Diego asked.

"I have no idea." Alejandro replied.

"Still... Not something you see every day..." Diego muttered, looking back to the flowers. "Are you sure about this?"

"Well, she said this was the way we had to go," said Dora as she moved slowly towards the flower field. "Don't touch anything."

Alejandro quickly drew his hand back, and they made their way slowly through the field of flowers. It was a bit of an obstacle course for them as they walked between the flowers without touching them. Alejandro bit his loose backpack straps as he wedged between two flowers, but happily dropped them as he made it through. It looked so far so good as the trio carefully passed by the flowers with extreme caution.

"Yes! We did it!" Alejandro beamed as he pumped his hands in the air, but unfortunately, this also meant that he touched a flower.

Suddenly, the flowers all opened up, one-by-one...and one sprayed Alejandro. 

"It spat in my face!" he coughed, as the flowers began spraying more and more.

"We're in a spore field!" exclaimed Dora.

"Don't breathe in!" Diego shouted as they coughed and covered their mouths.

"Let's get out of here!" Alejandro panicked.

"It's okay. It's okay," Dora soothed him. "If these were poisonous spores, we'd all be dead by now. Come on, Diego... Oh, whoa." she then said to her cousin.

"What?" Diego asked. "What?"

Dora just stared at him.

Diego felt his face as he felt different. "Oh, boy." he then muttered.

"What's happening?" Alejandro asked as he and Dora stared at each other.

"You... You look weird." Dora said to him.

" _You_ look weird."

"No, _you_ look weird."

"You... No, _you_."

"No, you! You!"

"You! You! _Him_!"

Alejandro muttered a bit in Spanish before he ripped his clothes off as they all saw what looked like a colorful cartoon world on a morning preschool show. "I don't need these clothes anymore!" he then called out as he ripped off his clothes and ran for it.

"I'm sure this will pass," Dora said to Diego. "It's fine!"

"Fine? Are you kidding me?" Diego replied before he smiled and swung on a vine. "This is incredible!"

"Hi, Dora!" A map smiled as he came out to the explorer girl.

"Hi there, Map!" Dora beamed. "Oh, I thought I lost you."

"You can never lose me," Map smiled at her. "I'm always with you!"

"Hi, Dora." Another voice said.

"Backpack!" Dora beamed.

"My mouth is a zipper!" Backpack smiled at her before she zipped her mouth shut.

"Hi, Dora." A rock on the ground smiled.

"Hmm... I don't know you, small rock." Dora said to the rock.

"Oh." The rock pouted.

"But it's nice to make your acquaintance." Dora smiled as she patted his face.

The rock beamed a bit from that as that seemed to make his day.

"Everyone is here!" Dora beamed as she was surrounded by colorful animals like a yellow troll, a blue bull, a purple squirrel, and a green iguana.

* * *

In the nearby distance, LJ and the others were watching.

"...What's going on with those guys?" asked Jane.

"I dunno, but it looks hilarious!" Ambrose cackled.

"I think those flowers are making them hallucinate," said Dorian. "I mean, everyone is here? What is this, _Super Smash Bros. Ultimate_? Must've left that one at our new house..."

"We'll play that later," Jane said to the cat. "We have an adventure to worry about."

"Hmm... All right..." Dorian replied. "Who's gonna play it while we're gone anyway?"

* * *

**_Briefly back at the Victorian house..._ **

"Hmm... I should do something..." Zelda said as she sat on the couch. "I graded all my papers, made all my calls, and cleaned the house from top to bottom... Twice..." she then sighed. "Come on, Zelda, you're better than this..." she then glanced over to see a video game case and picked it up. "The kids are supposed to play this... I guess I could check it out to make sure that it's appropriate for children..." she then said as she took out the game and decided to play it for a few minutes. "Alright...let's give it a shot," she said to herself as the game began.

* * *

**_Meanwhile, back in the jungle..._ **

"Should... Should we do something?" asked LJ. "They could probably hurt themselves."

"I'm not sure what to do, but it's better than standing here." Zofia remarked.

"That's a yes." Kimberly then said as they came to see Dora, Diego, and Alejandro who went through some sort of wacky hallucination.

Dora and Diego went over to the edge of one ground and looked to the other side which was a very large gap that would be impossible to jump over, unless this was a cartoon, of course.

"Look! Papi's journal!" Dora called out as he pointed to the book on the other side and decided to jump for it.

"Wait!" Diego yelped.

Dora jumped over, but she didn't make it, but soon fell through the air as it looked like she would die from the fall, but somehow, she popped up back on the other side, almost respawning like in a video game as she was beside her cousin again.

"You okay, Dora?" Diego asked.

"I can't," Dora pouted. "I'm not ready."

"Take my hand," Diego suggested as he held out his hand for Dora. "Let's try this together."

Dora smiled from that before she joined hands with Diego, so they both tried the jump together. Just before they fell, fortunately, Sammy and Randy were able to catch them and pull them up.

"Yay! Sammy! Randy!" Dora exclaimed.

"We've got you, Dora." the both of them said as they pulled her and Diego to safety.

"Thanks, guys!" Dora exclaimed as the hallucination came to an end.

* * *

"What do we do?" asked Randy as Dora seemed to black out from her cartoon adventure. 

"Oh, we should sing her a song. She likes songs," Sammy replied before she gave it a shot. "Please be alive, Dora; don't be dead, That sounds like something, that you would have said~... Oh, I'm not very good at this."

"It worked!" Randy beamed as he shined his flashlight. "She's waking up. Hey!"

"Randy?" Dora muttered as she woke up.

"Oh, thank goodness." Zofia smiled.

"Boots!" Dora smiled as she saw her monkey friend.

"Ohh." Boots smiled back at her.

"Sammy!" Dora said to the mean girl.

"Hi." Sammy said softly.

"You came back," Dora smiled. "You have a nice voice."

"Well... Sometimes a song's the best idea." Sammy had to admit.

"Ohh." Dora sounded touched.

"But not often," Sammy then quickly added as she wrapped a blanket around Dora. "Oh, and don't tell anyone I did that. You're going to be okay."

"It seemed like you were tripping balls a few minutes ago though." Ambrose added.

"...Heh... Yeah..." Dora chuckled. "It was...odd, and yet? It felt strangely... Familiar."

* * *

A little while later, Diego woke up and saw the others asleep around a campfire that Dora had helped set up.

"You know, Dora, I... I never forgot about the jungle," explained Diego, sitting next to his cousin. "And you... You were my best friend... And my first friend. I'm glad I'm here with you, Dora. I mean, this... This is our next adventure, prima."

Dora smiled back. "Our next adventure, primo." And they gave each other big hugs.

At that point, Alejandro woke up. "I... I had the weirdest dream…" he stated before he looked and saw that he really _was_ naked. "Ah! Ah!" he yelped.

* * *

The next day soon came which meant that it was time to keep going.

"Why, yes, Councilwoman Burke, I would love a tour of your lovely home." Ambrose smiled in his sleep.

"Come on, Ambrose, it's time to get up." Zofia told him.

"I agree, Councilwoman Burke, you should slip into something comfortable." Ambrose smiled.

"Are you just pretending that you can't hear me?" Zofia glared.

"Yes, Councilwoman Burke, I would love more--... AAAAUGH!" Ambrose smirked before he yelled out.

Zofia glared as she twisted his chest a bit to wake him up.

"Okay, okay, I'm up, I'm up!" Ambrose yelped out of pain. "Don't milk me!"

Eric cracked his neck as he got up and cleaned his glasses. "...I'm pretty sure I don't wanna know where that dream was headed."

"Good thing you woke him up just in time..." LJ added.

Ambrose groaned a bit as he held his chest as they walked back on the trail with the sun as their only source of light. Boots followed after them as they came close to the mountain.

"The entrance to Parapata should be somewhere in these mountains." Dora told the others.

"That must mean we're getting closer." Kimberly said hopefully.

"Oh, that's great," Randy smiled. "For the first time, I'm actually feeling really good about how things are--"

Suddenly, the ground shook a bit violently before it seemed to crack all around to make them all fall into a hole which was now covered by a bunch of rocks. 


	7. Chapter 7

Boots came over to the scene in worry for Dora and the others as they all fell underground, all on top of each other.

"Ignore what I just said." Randy then groaned weakly.

Everyone got to their feet as Dora took her flashlight and looked around.

"Whoa..." said Diego. "This was all hidden down here?"

"Great," Sammy sighed. "Now...we're stuck in a hole."

Dora then looked up and saw that the ceiling was covered with...

"Stars," LJ noted.

"It's a...star map." said Dora and Randy.

"Heh...classic us." Randy chuckled.

"This feels like an Indiana Jones adventure now." Jane said as she rubbed her head.

"Shh! Don't. Feed. The Reviewers." Zofia shushed as she looked at the fourth wall.

"Uh, sorry?" Jane shrugged from that.

"But the stars aren't in the correct place." Dora said as she took a look.

"Awesome," Randy smiled. "It's a jungle puzzle!"

"I don't think this is a jungle puzzle," Alejandro spoke up. "Mainly because there's no such thing as a jungle puzzle."

"Listen, I've seen several movies about the jungle," Randy smirked confidently. "To solve this, we have to get the stars in the right place, and when we do, these big stone wheels will turn and the treasure will be revealed. It's gonna be awesome."

The others looked at each other from that.

"I just need to figure out how to move the first piece." Randy then said.

"Randy, I don't think you should touch anything." Kimberly advised.

"He ain't listening." LJ replied as Randy went over to one of the levers and tried to pull it.

"Are you sure you should be touching that?" Alejandro asked.

Eventually Randy got the lever to move and a rumbling sound was heard.

"What was that?" asked Eric. "It didn't sound good."

"Oh, wait. The stars are in the right position," Dora realized as she looked up at the ceiling before she moved herself. "It's the southern hemisphere. I was just looking at it the wrong way."

"Good to know." Ambrose remarked.

"It's still a jungle puzzle, right?" Randy asked as he leaned against the levers.

However, there was a small rumble as water spouted right out of a statue.

"I don't think this is a jungle puzzle," Kimberly replied. "This is a puquio."

"She's right." Dora added from that.

"What the flip is a puquio?!" Sammy cried out.

"It's an ancient underground aqueduct," Diego explained. "Inca engineers built some of the most elaborate irrigation systems ever devised. Water, from above, using gravity."

"You and your ding-danged jungle puzzles!" LJ groaned as the room began to fill up with water.

"This isn't like Mother's adventure underground!" Zofia added. "She had to solve millions of puzzles with that kid Frisk!"

"Oh, yeah..." Eric replied. "I believe she called those adventures 'Undertale'."

"Yep." Zofia replied.

Randy nervously pulled another lever which made more water splash inside.

"Stop pulling levers, Randy!" Alejandro cried out from that.

"I'm trying to find the off switch!" Randy replied.

"That's _NOT_ HELPING!" Eric shouted as more water poured into the room.

"Okay...if this is an aqueduct, we just need to somehow open the sluice gate!" Diego shouted.

"How do you know so much about aqueducts?" asked Sammy.

"We learned about them last year in history class; you were there!" Diego replied. "It was the week you wore a lot of red and pink!"

Sammy gave him an odd look.

"....I look at you a lot, okay?!" Diego replied.

The others looked at each other from that.

"Well... That was just said..." Zofia remarked. "I guess someone has a crush."

Diego and Sammy looked bashful from that.

"This is bad," Dorian shook. "This is very bad. Water and cats don't mix!"

"We need to find the sluice gate," Diego suggested. "Where is the sluice gate?"

"Please stop saying 'sluice gate'." Sammy requested.

"Okay, Diego, hold your breath and maybe check for us as not many of us know what a sluice gate is?" Kimberly smiled nervously.

Diego plunged under the water, then saw a symbol on the floor, before he came back up. "That must be the mechanism that controls the sluice gate!"

Sammy gave him a look.

"That's what it's called, okay? We have bigger things to deal with right now!" Diego exclaimed. "Everyone give me a hand. It's gonna take all of us. One, two, three!"

The group did as they were told, then went underwater to activate the mechanism to start the sluice gate. However, there was a wheel that was stuck, so they had to try and get to the surface while there was still some air left.

"This is our last chance," gasped Dora. "It's now or never!"

"Who here can hold their breath for seven minutes?" asked Randy, before raising his hand. "...It's hard to tell with all of this water, but I'm assuming none of your hands are raised. This one's mine."

"Go for it, Randy!" Ambrose cried out. "Put your odd talent which seemed random at the school dance, but is now very convenient for our current situation to good use!"

Randy took a deep breath as he came under the water to do the deed to save himself and his friends.

* * *

Everybody else reached for the ceiling as the water raised higher and higher which looked like they could all drown any minute now. Randy turned the wheel, but it still felt stuck so it delayed him a bit while the others panicked for their lives.

"Hurry, Randy!" Jane yelped. "I don't wanna drown!"

"Me neither!" Dorian added as he clung to her.

Randy finally turned the wheel which opened up a hole in the floor which soon sucked away the water as everybody spun with the water like they were being flushed away as they all were pulled to the hole before they came into a new room and slid from the water like on a waterslide.

"This would be so cool if I knew we weren't going to die or not!" Ambrose cried out.

"I'M SORRY I GOT ALL WEIRDED OUT BEFORE THE WINTER DANCE, MAN!" LJ shouted. "IF WE SURVIVE, WE SHOULD PROBABLY TRY TO TALK THAT OUT! IF NOT... THEN I GUESS WE'LL TALK ABOUT IT IN THE NEXT DIMENSION...!"

Fortunately, everyone shot out of a large hole, leading into a large lagoon. Apart from being drenched thoroughly, they were alright.

"Hey... We're alive!" Eric beamed with a bit of a cough. "Oh, thank goodness!"

Everybody groaned slightly, but they looked thrilled that they were still alive. Dora grunted as she coughed a bit before she came to fully.

* * *

"Dora? DORA!" A familiar-looking woman gasped as she spotted the explorer girl.

"Dora!" A familiar-sounding man added as he rushed over.

"Mami!" Dora gasped before she hugged her mother.

"My baby girl~" Elena cooed as she hugged Dora.

"Honey! Honey!" Cole added as he also came over.

"Randy did it! We're alive!" Diego beamed as he came out of the water before he saw his aunt and uncle. "Tia. Tio."

"Okay, can somebody please tell me what's going on?" Cole asked.

"We were kidnapped by mercenaries who were after Parapata--" Dora started to explain, only to be interrupted.

"Oh, I did something epic!" Randy smiled as he got out of the water. "I'm basically a superhero!"

"Hey guys, one story at a time!" LJ interjected as he cracked his neck.

"Okay, honey, who are all these people?" asked Elena.

Dora started to speak, but Sammy spoke first. "We're Dora's friends...from school." she said with an honest smile.

Diego nodded, with a smile of his own.

"We're on a field trip." said Eric. "Nice to meet you two."

"And where are the mercenaries?" asked Cole.

"Alejandro saved us from them," explained Dora as the man in question emerged from the water. "And he's with us!"

Now Elena and Cole were confused. "Who?"

"Your old friend?" asked Dora. "Alejandro, from the university. You... You sent him your journal."

"My journal was stolen days before the expedition." replied Cole.

"...Guess that means he was a villain the whole time..." LJ remarked.

Alejandro took out a walkie-talkie. "Bravo team... This is Alpha leader." he spoke.

"You don't know him, do you?" asked Dora as it hit her. "Ohh... Miercoles."

"I had a funny feeling about him..." Zofia glared a bit, referring to Alejandro.

"Why didn't you say anything before?" Dorian asked.

"You'd all think I was crazy and call me out from my paranoia." Zofia said.

"...She makes a good point," Ambrose replied. "That is something that I would do."

"We found them." Alejandro smirked on his walkie-talkie.

"Honey, come here." Elena told her daughter.

"Get back, kids." Cole added.

"Delta rendezvous point," Alejandro continued. "You have my location."

Dora looked mortified. "You lied to me."

"No, no, no, no, no. No, I outwitted you..." said Alejandro, as his group came out of hiding and captured the others.

"That's the same thing." said Cole.

"...As I have outwitted every adversary that came before you." Alejandro finished with a laugh. "Who would have believed that my greatest achievement, the final act in a prosperous treasure-hunting career would find me squaring off against a socially inept jungle nerd..."

"Lay off her!" Eric snapped.

"...And three high school losers, not to mention seven little misfits and a fuzzball!"

"I don't know them, so whatever." shrugged Cole.

"Now, if you please... You will lead me to Parapata." Alejandro grinned.

"What happens if we don't want to?" Dorian muttered.

"I don't think you should find out." Jane whispered at him.

"But you can't get inside," Cole told Alejandro. "It's impenetrable."

"'Impenetrable'!" Alejandro repeated with a mocking laugh.

"That means you can't get inside." Cole then said.

"I know!" Alejandro glared.

"Okay." Cole said.

"Shut up!" Alejandro growled threateningly. "You wouldn't want anything to happen to her, now, would you?" he then asked, referring to Dora of course.

"Of course not." Cole said as he and Elena felt scared.

"Good. Good, good," Alejandro approved. "So, if everyone just plays nice, I'll get my gold, and you'll be on your way home safe and sound. You're a smart family, right? So make the smart choice. Hm?" he then bribed them.

The others looked sullen as it looked like they had no other choice.

"Damn it..." LJ groused as Elena and Cole were released, and hugged their daughter tightly. "If only there was something we could do..."

"We're moving out!" called Alejandro to the other mercs. "Let's go!"

"I know this is probably a bad time, but you wanted to tell me something?" Ambrose asked LJ.

"...Yeah, it probably _is_ a bad time," said LJ. "But given the circumstances, we might end up forgetting on account of all the stuff happening."

"So do you wanna tell me later?" Ambrose asked.

"Hm... Nah, now is alright." LJ replied. "About earlier, like just before the dance. I got all flustered cuz I thought you looked really pretty, but I was embarrassed cuz I shouldn't be thinking of you in such a manner, especially since you're already in a relationship."

"Oh... Ohh..." Ambrose said with briefly wide eyes. "I gotcha... Oh, LJ, I'm flattered for that," he said with a soft smile. "Plus we both have relationships. Look at it this way though, you were more mature than most boys when they met Ambrosina."

"And here I thought I was the only one lucky enough to get such an honor," LJ replied. "From what I could tell, the guys at the dance didn't even notice her."

"I have a bit of a different memory than you do," Ambrose said bashfully. "I'm glad you thought I was beautiful though. My personal idol Mama Ru would be proud of me."

"Come on, you kids," Alejandro glared. "Nobody wants to see two boys kissing."

Both LJ and Ambrose looked disgusted from that as they weren't even considering that.

"I guess it's time to be hostages," Ambrose sighed a bit. "I really wish my dad were here."

"Same," LJ agreed. "But if we get to kick that big jerkoid's butt, I'll be happy to take turns."

"Hm. Hm. Hm." Ambrose smirked with a nod.

"COME ON!" Alejandro snapped.

The two winced and came to go after the group as it looked like doomsday for Dora and her family. LJ muttered under his breath as he kept on walking.

* * *

"I'm so sorry." Dora said sadly. "This is all my fault."

"If we do what he says, we'll be okay." Elena replied.

"Sorry, I'm so sorry." Dora pouted.

"No, we're sorry." Elena pouted back.

"We love you so much!" Cole added.

"It's our fault." Elena cried out. 

Finally, Alejandro turned around. "Can you all shut up back there?!" he screamed. "I've had to listen to your mindless positivity for three days! Your relentless good-natured spirit is a holy nightmare! So just shut up! Shut up!"

"I'm so sorry about that." said Elena.

"Shut up!" yelled Alejandro. "No more talking. And definitely no more singing."

"Yeah, funny thing about singing," LJ replied, discreetly slipping his arms from their bonds. "It'll be hard for you to do that without any teeth. Unless you got the Jailhouse Blues rehearsed."

"Don't make me yell at you next!" Alejandro threatened.

Zofia narrowed her eyes as her big sister instinct flared up. Elena and Cole walked ahead of Alejandro before they suddenly stopped in their tracks.

"Why have you stopped here?" Alejandro asked. This is it, isn't it?"

"No, no, no," Elena stammered. "It, uh--"

"No, no, no." Cole added.

Alejandro walked off ahead of them into the cave to take a closer look for himself.

"Hey, wait." Cole gulped.

"No, please, wait!" Elena yelped.

Alejandro stepped inside before he looked amazed at what he saw as he took a far off look to down below to see a glowing temple that almost looked golden from the glow of the sun's rays. "Wow."

"Parapata." Dora whispered in realization.

"It's real!" Alejandro grinned before he barked orders to the others as he clapped his hands together. "We make camp tonight by those gates. Come on. Rale!"

"That's it, I'm kicking this guy's ass so far up his rectum, he'll hafta crap into his own _mouth_ to eat!" LJ remarked. "As if you could pull this off! You played a bumbling fool for so long, I thought that really _was_ your true self!"

"I beg your pardon?!" Alejandro glared. "You think you can talk to me like that, you little brat?"

"Well, my mouth is moving, and words are coming out," LJ replied. "So...yeah, I don't think: I know!"

"How would you feel about having a bullet in your head?" Alejandro threatened as he brought out a pistol.

"Do not shoot my brother." Zofia grumbled from that.

"Maybe I oughta," Alejandro glared. "If I hear any more smart mouths, I'm shooting heads off."

"I triple-dog-dares ya, punk!" LJ remarked, taking Kimberly's nail polish and painting a target on his head. "Just for funzies, I'll even give you a clear target!"

"LJ, stop, he'll kill you!" Dora cried out from that.

Alejandro took out his pistol as he aimed at LJ's head, his finger leaning on the trigger. LJ squinted, a grin forming on his lips. Just as Alejandro squeezed the trigger, he suddenly saw his gun tumbling over the edge of the precipice and into the river.

"...Nice try," LJ replied casually. "But nice don't pay the piper."

"What did you just do?" Alejandro growled.

"Oh, I knocked your gun out of your hands," LJ replied. "That was the least painful thing I could've done to ya within the span of six seconds."

Alejandro grabbed him by his throat. "I will enjoy killing you, child," he said sharply. "I will make sure you die first."

"No!" Kimberly cried out from that.

"Ooh, big man with a knife," LJ remarked as he spat a flaming loogie in his face. "You feel proud? Feel good about yourself?" He extended an arm behind his back, and lit his butt on fire.

The others looked horrified as Alejandro suffered from the worst abuse.

"You horrible child!" Alejandro growled. "Who taught you how to behave?!"

"I learned from my dad," LJ smirked. "He taught me not to take crap from scumlords like YOU!" he then used his arm to give Alejandro a giga-wedgie. I can't go into detail about what that includes, because nobody should have to see that.

Alejandro let out a high-pitched squeal before he found the will to let out a growl. "That's it! He dies! I was going to be nice about this, but now you've forced me!"

Boots chuckled as he hid away in the trees where nobody could see him. Swiper also seemed to be laughing with made the other bad guys give the fox a firm look.

"Forced you to be an even _bigger_ idiot? Hey, that's what I do; don't have a cow, man." LJ shrugged. "Face it, you're a joke! Not even a funny joke!"

As Alejandro charged at LJ, he suddenly ran smack into a rake, which smacked him in the face. Stepping to the left, he tried again, only to be smacked by the handle of another rake.

LJ shrugged. "...I can't help but appreciate the classic stuff." he smirked.

"He's probably not gonna like that." Randy advised.

"Wait 'til the gods get on him for trying to take their treasure," Zofia replied. "They always know how to punish the bad people in treasure hunting movies like this."

"Yep," LJ replied. "So I consider this giving the gods a nice bit of comedy beforehand."

"I hope you realize this would never go well in the real world." Zofia sighed.

"It's LJ, I'm sure he's fine," Kimberly replied. "It's like someone trying to scare your Uncle Atticus with a dangerous monster like a werewolf. It's not gonna bother him since he's seen a lot."

"Oh, I know," Zofia replied as Ambrose snickered. "At least thank goodness for Father's side of the family being able to aid LJ like this. And what are you laughing at?" she then asked the warlock teen.

"I'm sorry!" Ambrose said between laughter. "It just reminds me of when _The Simpsons_ was funny!"

"Thank you, thank you," LJ said as he took a few bows. "I know if I made just one person laugh, I've done something right. Besides, all comedy is derived from some form of misery!"

Eric gave a blank expression from that.

"I'm sure he didn't mean you, Eric." Jane told him.

"Oh, yeah, sure," Eric replied. "I just feel like maybe that's been said around me before."

"It only works if the guy getting hurt deserves it," LJ explained. "Your misery doesn't count. It's more tragic than funny."

"Well, I'm glad someone else thought that." Eric shuddered from his horrible past.

"You're in good hands now," Jane soothed him. "We all are."

Alejandro growled as he limped a bit, but he managed to take the lead again as they had to move on as he scolded everybody every time they kept trying to laugh or make fun of him.

* * *

Boots soon came back through the trees before he jumped onto Dora's back to untie her bindings.

"No, Boots, quit it! No!" Dora whispered loudly. "Papi wants us to do what they say despite what LJ did to Alejandro."

Boots then got off of Dora and she looked surprised to see that her hands were free before Viper looked back at her and she acted like she was still bounded while the monkey hid back into a tree with a banana before he saw Viper turn away, so he came down to Diego next. Then next, he undid Sammy's bonds, and finally, he undid Randy's bonds. Randy gave him a fist-bump, just as Viper turned around.

"What's going on?" The bad guy asked, before seeing Randy's ropes undone. "KIDS!" he glared, as the others scattered.

Just then, Dora stepped up to face him; using her yo-yo, she threw off his concentration, then knocked him out cold.

Eric gasped. "...Okay... That is the _coolest_ thing I've ever seen..." he exclaimed.

"Wow, it really is the deadliest weapon." Dora remarked before she tossed her yo-yo in the air and it landed in her backpack which prompted her to run off.

"Viper!" One of the thugs called out as he brought out his pistol next. "What's going on back there?"

"Put that down," Alejandro told him. "What happened?"

"Viper got yo-yo'd." The thug replied.

"Again?" Alejandro scoffed.

"Again." The thug nodded.

"Take the professors to the gate," Alejandro suggested before he smiled darkly. "I spent days with these brats. I know what they'll do next."

The thug did as he was told before Alejandro followed behind, though he stepped on another rake which hit him right in the face which made him grumble thickly before he walked off after this team.


	8. Chapter 8

Meanwhile, Dora ran with Eric as they called out for their other friends before they tumbled and fell down a hill suddenly.

"Ow! Face! Head! Skull!" Eric groaned as they tumbled all the way down the hill. Boots quickly scampered down behind them.

"Boots! You shouldn't have done that!" Dora told him.

"Still...it was so cool seeing you take that guy out with a yo-yo." Eric spoke up.

"Not now, Eric!" Dora told him. "Just...not now."

"Sorry." Eric said bashfully from that.

"So what if Alejandro's a double-crossing mercenary treasure hunter?" Dora sighed as she looked defeated for the first time in her life. "My parents are gonna show him the treasure and he's gonna let us all go."

Boots looked over quietly.

"He's gonna kill them, isn't he?" Dora panicked. "He's gonna kill all of us."

"Dora, don't cry." Eric frowned worriedly.

"Oh, no. I can't save them," Dora sulked. "Not by myself. I'm just a kid."

Eric tried to help comfort her.

"You're not a kid," Boots suddenly spoke up which made Dora look at the monkey in shock. "But you're not a grown-up either, Dora. You're a teenager. It's a super confusing time, but the fact is, you're right... You can't do it by yourself."

"Whaaat theee...?" Eric muttered from that.

"Good news is you have friends now," Boots continued. "And together, anything is possible."

"Boots, you can talk?" Dora asked before Boots suddenly acted like a normal monkey as the rest of the group caught up. "Boots. Hey, Boots. Boots, come on. Boots. Ooh, ooh, ah, ah. Ooh, ooh..." she then tried to chatter at him before she looked over to see her human friends. "Hey, did you guys hear that?"

"Uh, you talking to a monkey?" Sammy asked.

"No, no, Boots was talking to me." Dora told them.

"Maybe she hit her head." Randy said to the others.

"Talking animals?" Dorian remarked. "Imagine that."

"...I'm not even gonna comment on that," Eric muttered. "We probably hit our heads on the way down."

"Ah, kids today, no imagination." Dorian snarked to himself.

"Will you be quiet?!" Jane whispered loudly and sharply. "Our new family might kill us if you talk like that!"

"Ah, he's fine," Dorian replied. "The rules of witchdom have changed since LJ and Zofia's uncle took over the Council in this universe."

"Come on, guys, we have to save my parents." Dora told her new friends.

"How? We are teenagers armed with yo-yos." Randy replied.

"All Alejandro wants is the gold," Dora reminded. "And if we can get inside Parapata, we can trade the treasure for my parents."

"Or, if we're lucky, something will fall, and he'll receive exactly what's coming to him." LJ remarked.

"I've seen movies like this," Zofia commented. "The gods always know how to punish the bad people."

"Right," Randy agreed. "I've seen those movies too."

"But how are we going to get into Parapata?" Sammy asked.

"We're gonna figure it out," Dora replied. "Together."

Boots chattered as he took her hand before flexing like a confident strongman.

"Tonight." Dora then said, determined again.

"Okay then," Kimberly grinned. "Let's do it to it."

And so, they walked off together as it was getting to night time.

* * *

The group hid away in the bushes as Dora took out a pair of binoculars. They saw Alejandro with one of his cronies discussing the plan, while Swiper and Viper were acting as sentries patrolling the gate area.

"There they are," Ambrose glared. "They make me sick just looking at them."

"Guarding the gate, I'm guarding the gate, Swiper is guarding the gate~," Swiper sang to himself as he marched with Viper. "Guarding the gate, I'm guarding the gate~"

"Would you stop singing?" Viper glared at the fox. "It's unprofessional."

"How are we gonna get past him?" Diego frowned worriedly.

"If only we had some sort of weapon to use from earlier that seemed inconvenient at first that would be helpful in this current situation." Eric remarked.

"Like when Randy told us about holding his breath underwater at the dance and he got to show us during that flood." Ambrose added.

* * *

A little later, a pouch dropped near the gate, and Swiper went to check it out with Viper, but as soon as he picked it up, a familiar golden frog hopped out of the pouch.

"Ah...it's just a little frog." said Viper, but as he reached out, the frog touched his finger. That suddenly made Viper fall over, unconscious.

Then, the frog leapt onto Swiper's snout, paralyzing him. "Oh, mannnn...." he grunted as he fell over.

"Good job, golden poison frog." Dora whispered as she and the others passed the two to get through the gate.

The others followed after Dora once they were clear to go.

"There must be a way to open the gates from the outside." Dora thought out loud.

"Hey, guys, look at these," Sammy pointed out as they passed some animal statues. "Each one has a lever."

"I was wrong about jungle puzzles, okay?" Randy remarked as he was about to lean against one lever. "There is no such thing as a jungle puzzle."

"Wait, don't do that!" Zofia warned. "Remember, Randy, these kinds of movies have traps if you do the wrong thing!"

"She's right... Look. Traps," Dora added as she pointed all around. "Could be arrows or poison."

"It looks like there's traps everywhere." Diego concluded.

"This is one heavy security system." remarked Kimberly.

"So, how do we know which levers to pull?" asked Sammy. "There are so many combinations."

As everyone looked around, Randy looked down and saw a tile speckled with starry patterns. "What the... Guys, look down." he told the others. They all looked down, and saw many more tiles just like that one.

"Looks like...constellations." Diego and Dora said in unison.

"Classic us. Again." Randy remarked as Dora stepped towards a couple of them.

"This is Yawar Mayu, the Inca night sky." she explained.

The clouds brushed by the moon which made it very dark for them, though some stars faded before some glowed brighter than before.

"Ah. Look," Dora said as she examined with the others. "Some of the stones retain the light longer. This is Anka, the eagle." she then went that way to the matching statue.

"Look," Randy said as he found a place to go. "And that's Atuq, the fox. That's... Right there."

"This one looks like a serpent," Sammy said as she took her turn. "Are there any more?"

"This one's Otorongo, the jaguar," Diego said as he came to the statue of a jaguar which seemed to bring him great comfort. "This must be the fourth lever."

"Okay, but...which one should we pull first?" asked Randy.

"Maybe we pull 'em all at once?" asked Diego.

"Well, that's a pretty big maybe." replied Sammy.

"At least if we die, we all get to die together, right?" shrugged Diego.

"...Solid point." Eric shrugged, as the group each held on to a lever.

"On three, we pull," said Dora. "Ready? One...two...three."

They all gave a great big pull together. Nothing seemed to happen which made them all look around.

"It's too quiet..." Ambrose said. "That can't be a good sign."

"Okay. It's official," Randy concluded dully. "Movies lie."

However, right as he said that, a pair of doors opened.

"It's a jungle puzzle," Randy then said out of amazement and relief. "It's a real... Freakin'... JUNGLE PUZZLE! That is so awesome! I'm sorry I doubted you, movies."

They soon walked through the door to come up to an ancient temple that was right in front of them, just like something out of a movie.

"I've never seen anything like it," Dora gasped. "This is the discovery of a lifetime!"

"Whiskers!" LJ exclaimed. "This is even better than a DuckTales episode!"

"Classic or Reboot?" asked Eric.

"...Yes," LJ nodded. "I guess this must be the temple."

"The gold, right?" asked Randy. "This is totally where the gold's hidden."

"Everything the Inca treasured will be in here," replied Dora. "But remember...we're explorers, not treasure hunters."

"Aw, phooey..." Ambrose grumbled under his breath. LJ patted him on the back.

"We're not treasure hunters, but Alejandro sure is," replied Sammy. "So let's be quick. Come on. I don't do last."

And they each made their way inside the temple.

"So we can look, but not touch?" asked LJ. "That's either museum rules or stripper rules."

"Either way, it checks out." Ambrose shrugged. "And ya _never_ disrespect stripper rules."

Eric gave him an odd look.

"...Let's just say dad and Uncle Skippy have huge plans for my 15th birthday," Ambrose explained. "Provided Mom doesn't find out, we should be good."

"Oookay then!" Zofia replied from that.

"Boys..." Jane rolled her eyes slightly.

"I resemble that remark." Dorian complained.

* * *

Dora took out a lit torch to help light the way for them as they came into the temple, but it seemed to lack any gold which was a bit perplexing for them.

"It's empty," Sammy said. "I don't get it."

"I don't see any doors." Kimberly spoke up.

"This can't be all that there is," Zofia said. "I don't see any treasure."

"It was probably cleaned out by Spanish conquistadores." Dora guessed.

"Or the British." Randy spoke up.

"Or the French." Diego added.

"Or the Americans and the United Fruit Company." Sammy guessed.

"Oh! Ah! I found this bowl," Randy exclaimed, holding up a bowl. "It could be treasure."

Dora inspected it. "That's a sun bowl....you tilt the bowls to reflect the sunlight."

"So that must mean there's..." realized Sammy, before she spotted something. "Look! There's an opening in the wall for the sun to shine in."

"Well, this flashlight can be our sun." replied Zofia as she gave the monkey the flashlight. "Here, Boots."

The monkey then took it and scampered up the wall. 

Randy held the bowl up to the flashlight beam, which made it reflect off its surface. "Huh. Now what?"

"We have to angle the bowl to the right place in the room." explained Dora as the others inspected the room's surroundings.

"Sweetness." Eric said from the lighting.

"Now what?" Randy asked.

"We have to angle the bowl to the right place in the room." Dora instructed.

"Clearly they loved geometry." Jane smirked from that.

"They fit together symmetrically," Dora and Sammy soon said together before they smiled at each other. "The golden ratio! 51 degrees."

"Okay, we gotta be smart about this," Ambrose said to the others. "I'm not really smart about this arrangement, so... Someone else cover it."

Dorian rolled his eyes from that.

"Randy? Angle your bowl 51 degrees to Diego," Dora told her friend, and he did so as Dora took out a small compact mirror. "Ok, Diego? To me."

Diego turned and reflected the light to Dora's compact, which bounced off and reflected to Sammy.

"Okay...now I'll turn mine 51 degrees, and we'll see where it lands." Sammy said as she turned her sun bowl, and the beam landed on a symbol on the wall, which started glowing red as the wall cracked open like an egg.

"A door!" Diego exclaimed. "It's opening a door, guys!!"

"We did it! We did it! Hooray!" Kimberly cheered.

"Just hold the beams until the door is fully open." Dora suggested.

The others nodded from that as the doors took their sweet time to open fully, but at least it even opened up at all.

"What is that?" Diego asked as he saw a special marking on the wall. "Some sort of Ancient Inca group hug?"

The others glanced over before some spiders began to come out from each opening section which seemed to be a bad sign.

This was enough to scare Sammy which made her drop her bowl. "It slipped. I'm sorry." she then said nervously.

"Uh-oh..." LJ and Zofia shared a gulp.

"We'd better make a run for it!" LJ exclaimed.

"Uh-oh! Look!" Jane gasped as she looked up.

The ceiling seemed to be lowering down on them with spikes on the ceiling.

"The jungle puzzles are turning on us!" Randy panicked.

"The door's closing!" Sammy added.

"And as I said before... Everybody, run!" LJ then cried out.

And so they all ran as fast as they could through the doors.

"Come on, Boots!" Zofia called out to the monkey.

Boots yelped as he made a run for the exit, scampering through the doorway as it slammed shut.

"Dora! Dora!" The group panicked as Dora tried to come next, but the doors began to close on her.

* * *

The group tried to help Dora out as she grunted while getting stuck from the closing doors.

"Try and pull it open." Diego told the others.

The others tried just that, but they had little to no avail.

"It isn't enough!" Sammy cried out.

Boots came to the doors and pulled on his tail like a lever to make the doors open further which got Dora out as he came down with her.

"Thank you! Thank you!" Dora beamed as she hugged the monkey. "Oh, Boots."

"Good job, buddy!" Diego smiled.

Boots smiled back as he looked happy that Dora was safe.

"Whoa. That's some hallway." Ambrose said as he took a look.

"No kidding," LJ nodded. "Probably crammed full of traps."

"It is a bit suspicious." Zofia remarked.

"It looks like it goes on forever." Diego added.

"At the end, is that--" Eric began.

"A giant golden monkey?" Randy beamed with a chuckle. "We did it, guys. We found the treasure."

"Wait, these skulls, they look like a--" Dora tried to warn as she saw a wall of human skulls as Randy stepped onto the wrong part of the floor by accident, which would, of course, set off a trap. "...Warning."

"Oh, come on!" Sammy complained.

"EVERYBODY RUN FOR IT!" LJ and Ambrose yelled. "AGAIN!"

Everybody got ready to go before the walls seemed to move. The wall behind them tilted a bit while the wall in front of them raised up, showing that the golden monkey statue appeared to be a fake. The group slid from the back wall and were about to fall down to the other side before they all grabbed hands to keep each other up.

"SPEARS!" Kimberly yelped a bit as she looked at the other side.

"Okay! Okay, I know what we have to do," Diego said to the others. "When we get to the bottom of the hallway, we have to jump at the same time."

"It's too far!" Sammy cried out.

"What? We will never make it!" Randy added.

"No, it's an illusion, okay?" Diego told them before he looked at the girl he really, really liked. "Trust me. It's okay, Sammy. Just let go. It's okay."

Okay." Sammy said as she tried to calm herself down.

"Oh, LJ, I won't make it." Kimberly said worriedly.

LJ clasped her hand. "It's fine... I got ya," he told her. "And I promise I won't let go until we're safe."

Kimberly bit her lip a bit with very wide eyes.

"It's okay, Kim," Zofia told her. "We'll all be okay. I trust LJ and Diego."

"Me too!" Eric added. "Especially more than Trevor from back home."

"...Okay... If you guys really think so, I guess I could do it too." Kimberly said, slowly calming down.

LJ nodded, and held her hand tightly, before they both counted to three, then leapt down the slide, shouting all the way.

"On the count of three... JUMP!" Diego yelled as they got closer to the bottom. "1... 2... 3!"

Fortunately, they managed to leap to the other side, just in time, and landed on the ground, safely.

"It was a forced perspective..." Dora realized. "A trick to fool thieves and trespassers!"

"The mind can be fooled by what the eye perceives!" LJ quoted. "Good job, Diego."

Diego couldn't help but laugh. "Ancient Inca group hug for the win, guys!" he exclaimed, and everyone was more than happy to take him up on that offer.

* * *

Finally, they could see the Incans' treasures for themselves.

"I guess this is where it all went." LJ remarked. "Looks like we found the treasure after all!"

Just then, the three musical insects from earlier popped out of the ground and played a more triumphant little jingle before walking off.

"...What _is_ that?!" Zofia asked.

"I'm not sure." Kimberly shrugged.

They soon came towards the amazing treasure trove.

"The monkey looked a lot more impressive back there." Randy remarked to the others.

"Looks pretty impressive to me," Sammy shrugged before she saw something green. "Is that an emerald?"

"It's bigger than a basketball!" Diego gasped.

"I think we found the treasure, guys." Ambrose smiled hopefully.

"No. This is the last puzzle," Dora told them. "Look. This is a quipu. Inca written language."

"Do you happen to know what it says?" Jane asked.

"Of course I do," Dora replied before she translated the text. "'Make an offering to the Gods of that which is most revered'."

"What _did_ the Inca revere the most?" asked LJ.

"Beats me, I wasn't really paying attention in class when they mentioned that." Eric replied.

"That makes two of us." Dorian shrugged.

"That's easy!" said Alejandro, stepping into the room. "The same as me: Gold."

"Oh, crud." Kimberly groaned.

"Thanks for getting through the tough stuff for me." Alejandro bragged. "Once again, I only had to follow Miss Know-It-All, and she led me straight to the gold." he chuckled with evil glee as he held the treasure in his hands. "Gold. Gold! Lots and lots of gold! The answer to the puzzle is obvious. The Incas built monuments to their gods with it. Gold is as close to touching the sun as the Incas could get."

The others moved out of the way, but glared at Alejandro as he grabbed the treasure for himself. Alejandro grinned as he took a coin with a wink at them.

"You gonna finish him off any?" Zofia asked LJ as Alejandro was about to make all his greedy wishes come true.

LJ thought for a second, then shrugged. "...Nah, I'll let the gods take it from here." he replied.

Alejandro placed the coin into the statue's hands, then watched as they began to rise. "It's happening! It's happening! It's happening!" he then cackled as he began doing the Macarena. "I beat you! I won! I beat you! I won! I beat you! I won! Ha! The treasure is going to be mine!"

"You were wrong about me, Alejandro," explained Dora. "I'm not a know-it-all, but by now, I do know you. I knew that you would follow us in here. And I knew that you would let us take all the risk for you. I knew the final Inca test would carry dire consequences for those who should fail it. Which is why we...are over here, and you…well, you're standing right there."

Suddenly, the ground began to give way under Alejandro's feet, and he backed up several feet, before turning to run; unfortunately, LJ was right behind him, and he gave him a hard punch in the face, sending him tumbling into the molten lava chamber below.

"Look, don't touch." LJ remarked.

The others nodded from that. Even though Alejandro was vile to them in the final act, it still felt a bit chilling of what had happened to him.

"I'm still alive!" Alejandro's voice called out.

The others looked from that and came to take a closer look as the man was dangling from the edge, keeping himself up from the lava down below.

"Powell! Viper!" Alejandro cried out. "Help me!"

The doors behind them opened up which made them look over as someone came out.

"Oh, great," Ambrose groaned. "Now we're screwed."

"Stand tough, gang!" LJ told the others.


	9. Chapter 9

Several troopers armed with crossbows came out, accompanied by Dora's parents and the mysterious old lady.

"Dora!"

"Oh, honey!"

"Mami! Papi!" Dora exclaimed. "I'm so sorry."

"It's fine," said Cole. "How cool is this? Look at these guys, that's a real crossbow."

"Honey," said Elena, pulling Cole's hand down. "That's a real crossbow, yep."

"It's the Lost Guardians of Parapata." exclaimed Randy.

"Ridiculous! There are no Lost Guardians," remarked Alejandro. "I made them up."

"No, they're super real, bro." replied Sammy.

The old woman removed her hat and dropped her cane before she glowed a golden color and seemed to change form as she glittered and became a beautiful young lady.

"Hel-lo there~" Ambrose smirked. "You look a bit better than you used to."

Jane nudged him for that.

"Ow! Hey!" Ambrose glared.

Everybody else gasped in amazement as they saw the old woman's true form like she was reborn before she spoke to them. "You were warned," she started firmly before smiling. "And yet you persisted!"

"I think this is where we perish." Sammy whimpered fearfully.

"Seize the thieves!" the woman ordered her guards.

Dora suddenly stepped up. "No! Please!" she replied. "We're not with him! We're not treasure hunters," she explained as two of the guards pulled Alejandro out and carried him away. "We're explorers... We're here to learn."

The woman thought for a while, before holding up her hand to delay her guards. "Show me the correct path... Explorer." she told Dora.

"Dora the Explorer," Ambrose remarked. "Go figure."

Dora nodded as she went to do as she was told, passing by her parents on the way.

"Dora!" Cole gently called.

"Be strong, honey, okay?" Elena added.

The royal woman silenced them which was a bit startling for them. Dora came to the other side of the treasure trove before she picked up a small cup and filled it with water that was provided. Eric looked a little startled for Dora, but he kept faith for her. Dora took the water and poured some into the hands of the statue. It raised its hands up, and everyone watched in anticipation. Suddenly, some doors began to open, letting in sunlight.

"A wise choice," said the woman. Dora nodded to her friends, who followed her, with her parents.

"It's like nothing...." started Elena.

"...I've ever imagined." finished Cole.

The group couldn't help but admire their hard work....but then...

"Say goodbye to your little friend!" Swiper sneered, stealing the statue.

"Swiper...!" grumbled Kimberly.

"Adios, losers!" the fox cackled as he ran off with the statue.

"He has angered the gods!" The woman exclaimed.

"Everyone get outta here!" Cole exclaimed, and everyone made a mad dash for the exit.

"Don't waste time!" Kimberly cried out.

Eric tripped as he seemed to be left behind.

Dora seemed to pause during the running.

"Dora!" The others called out.

The golden monkey idol was shown as Alejandro was being carried off by the Incan guards.

"I love Parapata, but I don't want to be stuck here forever!" Alejandro cried out.

Dora soon rushed back over as everyone called out to her as Alejandro soon got what he deserved.

"I guess it was too good to be true," Eric sulked to himself. "Nobody really does care about me. I'll be a punching bag through life and at my final moments too. Well, goodbye, everybody. Thanks for at least pretending that you cared about me more than my so-called old friends did in Splittsboro."

"Eric!" Dora's voice called.

"Huh?" Eric blinked before he looked around to accept his fate.

"Eric, take my hand!" Dora told him. "I'll get you out of here!"

"Oh! Uh, okay, Dora!" Eric replied as he took her hand.

Dora grabbed his hand before she soon ran back as Cole helped her out before they could all get smushed.

* * *

"Jeez!" Jane exclaimed. "Eric, are you okay? ...I'd never tell anyone this, but I was terrified! I thought you were going to die... I'm your older sister now, and I should be more careful with your well-being." She then hugged him once they were out of danger.

"I'm sorry, I just tripped and I couldn't see for a minute," Eric frowned. "You were really worried about me?"

"Well, yeah!" Jane told him. "We're family."

Eric looked tearful from that as they shared another hug.

"Hey! Come on!" Ambrose told them. "We gotta keep going."

"I don't think I can walk." Eric said.

"No problem," Jane said as she bent down for him to climb on her shoulders. "Hop on."

"You sure?" Eric asked.

"Of course I am," Jane replied. "Now come on, let's get out of here or else and I would rather not learn about 'or else'!"

Eric then climbed onto her back and once he was on, Jane ran as fast as she could with the others to get out of the temple in time as Ambrose ran after them.

"And you'll never find it now, man!" Swiper laughed as he almost got away.

Just then, Boots leapt onto Swiper's head and began yanking his whiskers; this made him drop the statue on his foot, which made him scream in pain. Luckily, Boots caught the statue and got it to the group.

"Oh, man....the indignity...." Swiper grumbled.

Dora looked into the midst of the storm, and saw that the statue's podium was still standing. So, she carried it to the middle of the area, despite the protests of the others. She managed to put it back in its rightful place, and brought the storm to a stop. The adventure group was huddled together with slight whimpers before they opened their eyes to look around to see that they were saved, thanks to Dora. The temple soon began to rebuild itself as though nothing had even happened as the sky was clear again and the doors shut in front of them with the vines coming back which including the blooming of a pink flower. The group looked relieved and thrilled to see that they made it out all alive and well.

* * *

"Dora! You did it!" Elena beamed at her daughter.

Dora beamed as she felt very proud of herself for what she had done.

"Should we put up a sign saying, 'Choose the water'?" Randy suggested with a smirk.

Sammy and Diego lightly laughed from that.

"No? Okay." Randy then said.

"Dora... You are the greatest explorer, Dora." Elena smiled at her daughter.

"The greatest in the world." Cole added proudly.

"I love you." Elena smiled before she and her husband hugged their daughter.

"I love you." Dora smiled back in the hug.

Diego turned to Sammy. "Hey. Look, I know we weren't exactly friends when this trip started, but I--" He was cut off when she kissed him. 

"I like you, too." Sammy replied. "...Dora's staring at us again, isn't she?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." Sammy replied, and soon, the group was on their way back home from Parapata.

"Boy, was this a wild adventure, or what?" asked LJ.

"I'll say," Zofia replied. "I didn't expect any of this at all... It was a lot of fun though."

"No doubt," Ambrose chuckled. "Can't wait to tell my parents all about it."

"I hope Mom is alright, staying home by herself," said Eric. "Hopefully she didn't get too bored about not having much to do without us around for a while."

"We'll see her soon," Jane smiled. "Maybe she could make us some cookies."

Eric smiled back as he felt happy to have a much better family now than he did in Splittsboro.

"Come on, you crazy cats," Ambrose spoke up. "Let's go home."

* * *

And so, they left by helicopter as they left their life-changing, treasure hunting adventure as they soon came back to the Márquez hut in the village where they were then reunited with their parents who were there waiting for them.

"We have some exciting news," explained Cole to Dora. "We're going back into the jungle in a few weeks. We'll be gone for a few months, no contact, just us against the elements. Me and your mom... And you."

Dora looked at her parents, and they all had a good, long chuckle.

"We're onto something big, Dora." Elena told her daughter, who looked back at her friends, talking about their adventure with their parents.

"About that? I think... I think I want to go back to the city," Dora told her parents. "I know the jungle pretty well."

"Okay." said Elena.

"But high school..." explained Dora. "I think I need more time to study that culture."

Elena and Cole looked at each other with knowing smiles.

"I love you guys." Dora smiled back at her parents.

"We love you, too." Cole beamed.

"We love you, sweetheart." Elena added.

Dora smiled at them as she walked off to be with her friends, and as she was out of sight and earshot, Dora's parents broke down crying.

"Oh, God, what is happening?" Elena sobbed.

"She has a life of her own now!" Cole added. "I'm so happy for her. I'm so happy."

"It's gonna be okay, babe," Elena soothed her husband the best that she could. "It's gonna be okay. It's not gonna be okay!"

"But I'm so happy for her!" Cole cried out.

"Well... That went nicely," LJ remarked. "I think this little caper wrapped up quite nicely."

"I guess we should go home then." Ambrose said.

"Already?" Eric asked.

"Yeah, buddy," Zofia replied. "This is where we say our goodbyes."

"Look on the bright side," replied Dorian. "We get to go home and see Zelda, or Mom. Bring a little fun back into her life, on account of her not-so-busy schedule."

"Yeah..." Eric said. "She's so sweet and warm."

"Who knew Zelda Spellman would be such a good mother?" Dorian remarked to himself. "As long as she isn't trying to kill her sister."

* * *

The group soon came to see Dora one last time.

"You have to go?" Dora asked them. "Oh... Well, it was fun while it lasted. Maybe we'll see each other again someday."

"I would really like that, Dora." Eric smiled.

"You know, I think we'd _all_ like that." Zofia added.

"Hopefully that opportunity can come up," Dora smiled. "It was so good to meet you all."

The group smiled back from that before they all shared a goodbye hug with Dora as they had to get going now. And so, after one last hug, the group set off for home.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Back home in Greendale...** _

Hilda pouted a bit as she held a framed picture of Ambrose before hugging it as she missed her son very, very much.

A yell came from the living room. "OOH, YEAH! 26 MILLION POINTS! EAT ON THAT, MARIO!"

Hilda shrugged that off, then went to look outside...just as Drell's minivan fell out of a vortex and landed on the driveway. After looking out and seeing it, Hilda came outside and saw Drell and the kids getting out.

"Honey... We're HO-OOOOME!" Drell exclaimed.

"Drell!" Hilda beamed as she ran up to her husband and jumped up to wrap her arms around his neck to kiss him right on the lips.

"Mm~..." Drell chuckled. "Strawberry flavored."

"I missed the kids so much..." Hilda pouted. "I wanna go with them the next time they go somewhere."

"Well... I guess we could squeeze you in next quest," Drell shrugged. "It IS nice having you around."

"Let's go check on Zelda," replied Dorian, scampering into the house. "Maybe she confiscated my video game or something."

Hilda smiled bashfully and warmly at her husband.

* * *

The group soon came into the living room as Zelda played the game, looking a bit frazzled with her hair all tangled up, wearing a hooded sweatshirt, shorts, and had bloodshot eyes and looked like a feral animal.

"Uh... Aunt Zelda...?" Ambrose asked wearily.

"Oh... Hey, kids," Zelda smiled. "I got a little caught up in this video game here. Just a second," she turned back to the screen and yelled, "YOU WANT SOME OF THIS, BOWSER?! COME AND GET SOME, YOU REPTILIAN SLIME!"

The group flinched a bit as Zelda was trapped in her own little world.

"Something about this looks familiar," Drell said. "Okay, Zelda, why don't you get off of that thing and grade some papers for school, huh?" he then suggested, trying to take the controller out of her hands.

Zelda growled at him like a jungle cat and even tried to bite him.

"Whoa! ...Alright, fine, sor-ry!" Drell yelped.

"Well, at least she wasn't bored." Eric replied.

"Yeah, I guess..." Jane added.

"Uh, let's go out to eat," Hilda suggested as she took a hold of the kids. "I'm glad to have you guys home."

"And we're glad to be home, Aunt Hilda," Jane replied as they went back outside while Zelda was playing her video game. "Then again, we can at least try to bring something back for Mom afterwards."

"Yes, I suppose so," Hilda remarked. "I can't say I've seen Zelda act like this before."

"I guess she's never played video games before..." Eric replied. "Maybe she'll be calmed down when we get back."

* * *

At that, the group decided to leave the Spellman house as they decided to go out to eat.

"Hop, you little plumber, hop!" Zelda glared at the TV screen. "Don't let those other people get you down!"

And hopefully, Zelda would eventually calm down, but that's another story for another day.

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys, how'd you like the first new story of 2020? I guess you all should've expected this after the release of Dora and the Lost City of Gold which was actually a pretty good and fun movie to watch. At least, it was for me, especially with how they poked fun at the original show with how Dora would stare and yell at us through the TV Screen. That's about all I have to say for right now, but keep the look-out for future stories as I have plenty planned that I wrote in 2019 that aren't uploaded just yet. Until that time should come, PerkyGoth14, out!


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